


The Price Of Your Betrayal

by Averell_Torrent



Category: Naruto
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:53:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 27
Words: 237,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23405584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Averell_Torrent/pseuds/Averell_Torrent
Summary: Naruto sits in his cell thinking about all the events leading up to this. He was betrayed. Not thinking that it would actually happen he was slightly shocked even though he prepared for the slim chance of it happening. However, he can't help but smirk now that all is going according to plan. [Working on the rewrite, posting it here for feedback as I work]
Comments: 5
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 01

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time posting to AO3, so if I mess up any of the formattings I'll to fix it. I'm not really sure about the content warnings since it's so old and my writing was nowhere near as detailed, but if anyone thinks something should be added, let me know.  
> I will mostly be copying and pasting this over from where I originally posted over on fanfiction . net. The rewrite is slowly but surely being worked on and I want to gather as much feedback as I can, so please be sure to leave comments and help me improve my storytelling. I recognize that there are many faults in this fanfiction as it was my first one and was finished four years ago, but I hope to improve beyond that. So I hope that you can make it past the elements that need serious work and stick around for the rewrite.
> 
> As far as editing goes, I'm only doing a basic rundown for capitalization and fixing parts were I just put the wrong words or have bed spelling. I'm saving any real editing for the rewrite.
> 
> I like to quote, so you are very likely to know some lines I might use. But I hope to add more originality in the rewrite.  
> Also, I don't own Naruto or anything I use for material in my story.

_**"I can't**_ believe that it actually turned out like this", came a voice from the dark corner of the cell. Naruto Uzumaki. He was betrayed and now things were set in motion.

His decision to plan for many large things was a wise decision. Though this betrayal shocked him, he could no longer stop himself from smirking as everything was going according to plan. _'I still can't believe that it turned out this way. Oh well. All that's left is to sit and wait'_ He sat in the darkness, unable to stop himself from thinking of all the events between now, and when everything had started.

* * *

_**Nights**_ in Konohagakure were usually calm. However, some nights were less than usual. One such night would be October 10th. On this night there was a six-year-old who stumbled into his small, clean apartment where he lived alone. He wore a tattered white shirt and equally torn orange pants, with a thick black line down the two sides.

This was six-year-old Naruto Uzumaki. He had just managed to escape a mob. He still didn't know why they hated him so much, even though he had been trying to figure it out. He even tried asking the Hokage, who had told him he didn't know. He stumbled towards his bathroom while covered in his own blood, somehow the wounds were already stitching themselves back together and closing. At this point going to the bathroom was more to clean himself, than to tend his wounds.

In the bathroom, there was a small mirror about as tall as he was, leaning against the wall because he was too short to look into the one above his sink. Naruto used the water from the sink to wash off his face before turning to look into said mirror to see his reflection staring back at him. His expression showing his sadness over the situation before contorting into a face of rage as he punched the mirror. Instantly the mirror was covered in a web of cracks around his fist, which was now full of shards from the mirror. He didn't care. It would heal like all his other wounds did.

He looked into what was left of the mirror trying to think about what to do next. Some of his escape plans had worked. He had managed to set up an emergency underground system over time but was too far from any of the hidden entrances when they attacked. One of the villagers had started a mob at some point and they had started to chase him down. One of his escape plans that had worked, was setting up small places he could hide where he kept some food in case he needed to wait there a while.

He had one time hidden in the sewer system and had waited there. He saw how extensive it was and had started mapping it over the next few weeks, and had mapped almost every pipe. However, the openings large enough for him to get into were limited. When he realized this he started to set up an underground tunnel system for him to use that he had been able to dig up himself. Granted it was difficult due to the concrete and stone.

_'I need to figure out more ways to avoid and escape conflicts with them. I can't fight a whole mob.'_ Naruto had tried before when he was cornered but it made things worse. They simply beat him more. Some of the villagers had attacked, and many simply watched. But then a thought struck him. Another perfect plan unfolding. He started to smile. It was a broad, almost goofy smile. _'Well, that's one plan that I could use. I wonder what hiding behind a smiling mask would get me.'_

He turned to finish cleaning himself off before pulling out one of the larger chunks of the mirror and taking it with him. He then began taking off his clothes and moving towards his closet. As he walked over to his closet he couldn't help but smirk as another plan popped into his head. 

If one didn't work he could try another. Small ideas came to him all the time. He tried to plan for everything and discarded ideas that would never help. 

When he got into his closet he put on new clothes and opened a small panel he put in to cover a hole.

He long ago started using the apartment next to his as a study of sorts where he kept his plans and thoughts. It would be bad if the Hokage saw some of them. No one else lived there and the Hokage had no reason to use the other apartment. Many of these included contingencies in case he needed to leave Konoha. He knew he would never get away if they knew he had plans for it. 

_'If the Hokage knew he would set up ways to stop me.'_ This was always his thought.

This was all important to him. He knew that in this world, with his life, he needed to be smarter or he would never survive. Some of the ideas he knew were simple because, as smart as he was for his age, he was only six.

He walked over to a small desk he had and turned on a lamp before writing his new idea down, this way he could remember all of the details of his plans later. 

_'Well, that might help with getting some of them off of my back.'_

He turned around and looked at the stacks of paper almost as tall as he was. There were hundreds of them. All were plans waiting for the conditions necessary to use them. If one was no longer needed he would see if parts of it could be used in a different plan, then threw it away.

* * *

**_Naruto_** had been looking into the small mirror in his hand for a while now. This was not the first time he tried to change a personality trait in order to appease them. Being more serious for some reason made things worse. They seemed to think of him as a more serious problem. 

_'_ _Yeah, but this time I'm going to be hiding behind a mask of idiocy. Six years of my life, they have made me miserable, and the Hokage still doesn't know why. I can't help but wonder why. All this time and there are only a few people I can trust. At least weasel should be here soon. I can trust him.'_

Right on time, there was a knock on his window before a man in a weasel mask came in through it. "Hello, Itachi."

"I've asked you not to use my real name while I'm on duty. Even if you and I have become friends. Also, I'm sorry I was not there to protect you last night. My mission took longer than it should and I didn't get back until it was too late." Itachi said.

"Well, that's fine. I understand. Care to take a guess what my new plan for trying to keep them off my back is this time?"

"Hm... based on the way you're smiling, I would have to say that you are going to try and hide behind a smile."

"Exactly, my brother. However, a more complex way of saying it would be that I will be hiding behind a mask of stupidity and a smile so that they take me less seriously and leave me alone. I hope it doesn't work though."

"Why is that?"

"Because when I look at this idiotic smile in the mirror I almost want to break the mirror. I hate feeling like I might need to hide behind this stupid mask."

"I can understand that," Itachi stated. "So I hope for your sake you don't have to do so for long."

"Alright, it's taking all my will power to maintain this mask. Let's get to the Hokage so I can talk to him before I have to get to the academy." Naruto said.

Itachi nodded and followed as Naruto jumped out the window and followed from the rooftops as Naruto took off down the streets, towards the Hokage tower. 

Itachi would have to stop by Naruto's place tomorrow night before he left so he could say good-bye. He was going to be leaving tomorrow, leaving behind everything in his life for the existence of a criminal and a murderer. He felt bad that one of the few people that the younger brother figure trusted was going to be leaving him alone, but he didn't have much choice.

On the way there they were met with no resistance. The people were too shocked by Naruto's weird and overly happy expression that they couldn't react before he was gone. 

When they got into the Hokage tower, Naruto burst into the Third's office. The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was currently alone with his fingers on his temples. He was squinting like he was trying to focus intensely on something. In actuality, he was trying to disintegrate the mountain of paperwork on his desk with his mind.

It took the village leader a few moments to notice that Naruto was there. "Oh, I didn't notice you there Naruto. Here to greet me before your first day at the academy?" Naruto's huge and goofy grin did not go unnoticed.

"That's right Jiji." He said with his hands behind his head. "Still trying to make your paperwork disappear with your mind?"

He let out a sigh at being seen. "Yes, yes I was," The grandfather figure said. He was another one of the few Naruto trusted. "So do tell, what is with the change of attitude? The last time I saw you was only the day before yesterday and you were rather bored with the situation."

Naruto's smile wavered almost unnoticeably it was so slight and fast. "Well, I'm hoping that hiding behind a mask of stupidity will help get them off my back." The third instantly knew who and what he was talking about.

"We shall see." The third said starting to think about the effect this could have. "You have tried changing attitude before. Are you sure this will work?"

"My hope is that they take me less seriously."

"Alright, let's hope it works then." He checked the time. "I have a meeting to go to and you're almost late. Go ahead, I'll see you later and we can talk more."

Naruto turned to leave but stopped, his voice turning slightly darker but almost unnoticeably so. "Have you figured anything out about why they hate me or anything about my family?"

"I wish I did but no. Nothing yet." The Hokage responded, his voice sounding slightly depressed.

Instantly Naruto's voice went back into a cheery mood. "Alright, well I'll get going."

After he left, Itachi came from the corner and walked up to the third. "So when do you intend on telling him?" he asked.

"When he can defend himself and he is ready," was the reply. But before Itachi left he said, "Oh and Itachi, I'm so sorry." Itachi simply nodded and left the third to glare at his paperwork as he continued to watch over Naruto on his way to the academy.


	2. Chapter 02

_**Over**_ time, a few things changed. Naruto was now ten years old. He couldn't help but wonder at some of the things he had yet to solve. The first was why Itachi had come to him that night and told him goodbye, or why the older brother figure and guardian had asked him to help his younger brother Sasuke to stay on the right path and get stronger. When he heard about the massacre of the Uchiha clan he could not believe it at first. 

He had instantly realized that that was why Itachi had said goodbye. However, while he had figured out that part, he was unable to make all of the pieces fit. Why come to say good-bye when you were about to slaughter your clan? Part of it didn't fit, and Naruto didn't think it ever would unless he talked to Itachi again.

However, after all this time he had still yet to officially meet the younger brother but had seen him a few times. It was clear that he would have to get close to him before he could help him. However, that was not easy as he rejected most human contact. He would have to wait until a time when it would be easier.

Another thing that changed was that the attacks grew much less frequent, practically rare, and, on average, even less brutal. This seemed to stem from most people taking him less seriously now that he was an idiot as well as him being in the shinobi training. 

He was often left alone and had very few people that ever talked to him. For some reason people still avoided him. But that was fine. He had wanted to be noticed by the village, to make the village like and respect him, but for now, he was settling for not being hated.

He was walking out of one of the side doors to the academy, as he wanted to avoid some of the roads and paths that were more widely used. As he walked out the door he noticed that along the wall of the main academy building there were two people bullying another person while a fourth was lazily watching. His own words were that it was too troublesome to get involved. 

Naruto was about to go over and intervene, but when the word freak reached his ears the idiotic mask he used to hide his true face slipped away for the third time since its creation. The first two being times when he was talking to the third and momentarily let it fall. The only difference was that this time it didn't just slip; the false face partially fell away to reveal a dark aura in his eyes as he let loose some of the rage at the world he kept inside.

Naruto quickly walked over, trying to contain the killing intent, and saw that Kiba and Choji were beating up Shino while Shikamaru was watching. Before Naruto got close enough to be noticed, he heard why they were attacking Shino.

They thought Shino was a freak because of the way his clan had bugs living inside their bodies. It sickened Naruto. When he got close enough his voice was darker than usual, and it carried the undertone that he was ready to kill whoever answered his next question unfavorably.

"What in the world are you doing?" His dark, but calm, and slightly lowered voice shocked them all, even Shino, who was glad someone had come.

Kiba was the first to shake his unease at the tone, as well as who they came from, and spoke up "What's it look like Uzumaki? We're beating up the freak. Now join in or go away!"

Naruto couldn't take it anymore and snapped. "YOU THINK YOU HAVE SOME RIGHT TO ATTACK AND JUDGE SOMEONE FOR THINGS BEYOND THEIR CONTROLE?! HOW DARE YOU!" The others were shocked that this would come from him. His smile was replaced with a look of absolute loathing. "If you think you are better than him, then look at yourselves! You fat Akimichi! You think you are better?! I'm surprised your clan hasn't eaten this village into poverty!" Under normal circumstances, Choji would have attacked someone who called him fat, but he was too shocked at how Naruto was acting.

"And you," he pointed at Kiba "your clan spends so much time with dogs I'm sure you're covered in more flees than any bug user has ever seen!"

Shikamaru was thinking to himself right now. _'I know I've judged him too but I really hope he doesn't yell at me. It would be too troublesome.'_ But his hopes were denied as Naruto looked at him.

"And you, did you think I wouldn't notice you?! You sit there and the only reason you don't get in on this is that you and your clan are the laziest group of people to ever exist! You think this gives you a right to attack someone for the clan they were born into?! You are all hypocrites that deserve a horrible fate! I just hope I'm there to see it!" he said. Once his rant was done, the silence that followed was deafening. 

No one could have expected that this would have come from Naruto. But as quickly as it came Naruto quickly put the mask back on and while smiling offered a hand to Shino who at this point was sitting on the ground against the wall. "Need a hand?"

Shino merely gave a single nod and took the help up. All four of them were looking at Naruto like he just slapped them with a third arm that grew out of his neck. His face went to one of confusion as he waved his hand in front of Shino's face. When he got his attention he turned to walk away saying "Come on! Or do you want to stay here?" After he said that, Shino walked quickly to join him.

"What the hell just happened?!" yelled Kiba.

* * *

 _ **Over**_ the next few weeks, Naruto and Shino had become good friends. Naruto had eventually explained how he was hated for a reason he did not know. They quickly became friends and usually hung out together after they were done at the academy. Today they were on their way to Ichiraku Ramen for lunch. 

All at once Naruto stopped walking and turned around. His halt was caused by the feeling that he was being watched. His suspicion was confirmed when he saw someone duck behind a fence. Naruto was curious as to who would be following him and went to check it out.

"What's wrong Naruto?" Shino asked. He was unaware of them being followed.

"We are being followed," Naruto whispered in response.

They backtracked so that they could see who was stalking them. However, they were shocked to see Hinata. 

_'It's that girl I saved from those guys a couple a years ago.'_ Naruto thought. He had seen her in school and realized how shy she was.

"Hey there Hinata." He decided not to question her about following them and instead decided to see if he could make a friend out of her. "We were headed to Ichiraku Ramen. Want to join us?"

Shino quickly saw what Naruto was trying to do and agreed. "Yes, as they say, the more numerous the more favorable."

Naruto looked at him. "I don't think that's how that goes Shino."

They both chuckled for a few seconds before turning back to Hinata. Shino spoke up, "So what do you think, Hinata?"

She looked at Naruto and blushed while poking the tips of her fingers together as she started to stutter. "S-s-sure N-Naruto."

"Alright, let's go"

 _'I wonder if he will ever figure out why she acts like that'_ Shino wondered to himself as he watched the clearly oblivious Naruto turn towards their destination.

* * *

 _ **Three**_ days after turning Hinata into his friend Naruto was walking towards the Forest of Death. During times when he wanted to get away from everything, he had spent time in training ground 44 due to the fact that no one went there. He liked the quite that came with it. 

The forest was one of the many training grounds, and forests in general, that surrounded the village and were within its barrier. He knew that plenty of people were afraid of the forest, but most of it seemed to be rumors as the creatures living in the forest generally left him alone unless he got too close, they were just in a bad mood, or were riled up for the purposes of the Chunin exam, as they had been during the one Konoha had hosted just last year.

He had wanted to spend time with Shino and Hinata, but they were currently busy with things at their clan compounds and couldn't join him. It was a bummer, but it was not as though being with them was the only thing he had in life.

On the way there, he noticed the glares but tried to ignore them. Absorbed in his thoughts, he didn't expect it when someone ran into him and he stumbled back. He looked up to see a woman he didn't know. However, not knowing her personally didn't mean he didn't know of her. And anyone who knew her would call her Anko Mitarashi.

"Watch it brat!"

Naruto saw it. That look in her eyes. She looked at him like everyone else. Things quickly changed when they both heard people whispering. She turned to see people looking in her direction with looks of hatred and fear. She was about to yell at them to piss off when she suddenly realized they weren't looking at her. They were looking at Naruto. 

The world around the two of them almost seemed to fade away as she stood there. This shocked her because her hatred for the monster had kept her from seeing that she looked at him like the villagers would look at her most other times. She looked at him to see he was looking her in the eye with no emotion on his face.

"They look at us in the exact same way. Did you ever notice that?" he said seeing the shock on her face. "Oh well." Then he started to walk away leaving her to her thoughts as she saw all their glares follow him. 

And as the whole world came back, she knew this was going to weigh heavily on her mind for a while.

* * *

 _ **"Well,**_ that sucked." Naruto was sitting under a tree with Shino and Hinata. Three years had passed since he made friends of them. He had been able to change a few things as time passed. 

Not long after he had met her Anko had found him in the forest of death sleeping next to the roots of a tree. When he woke he and she had a conversation about their shared pain and how lonely they really were. Anko had told him how she had trained with Orochimaru. How the village hated her for it. She told him of how she had suffered the pain of being alone because of that monster's mistakes.

With Shino, Naruto had been able to make him open up. He was still overly quiet when he was not around people he knew but changes usually come with small steps. Being more talkative with Naruto and Hinata was a step in the right direction.

Hinata, like Shino, had made progress but also in small steps. She still blushed and stuttered, but her blushing was far and few between. Though it was particularly around Naruto who still hadn't realized, she had gotten better. Her stutter was less and usually, she could hold a conversation. She was still shy but over the past three years, she had gotten significantly better.

He had eventually introduced Anko to them and over time the four of them had all gotten significantly closer. Anko was sometimes seen as a big sister figure due to her being older and protective of her newfound friends. 

Beneath her mask of not caring about what others thought of her, she really did want to have friends. Over time they had learned more about her, such as the fact that she could be exceedingly sadistic when she felt like it. This counted even more so for her position in the integration department.

They were currently trying to figure out how they could solve a problem.

"Well, that sucked." Naruto was sitting under a tree with Shino and Hinata.

"I a-agree Naruto," Hinata said.

"So what are we going to do now? We could always ask Anko to... _'talk'_ to them. I'm sure she could find a civilized solution to this mix-up." Shino said.

"Uh, Shino, that's really...how do I put this...oh yes, that's probably the most sadistic thing I've ever heard. I like it." Naruto said. He knew Shino meant torture. He could tell Shino was smiling even though he couldn't see most of Shino's face. "But as entertaining as that would be merely to listen to, let alone watch, their report has probably been written up and sent in already. If they changed it now without a good reason....." he let it hang there.

The problem was that Naruto had failed the genin exam. His scores were enough to pass. His 'henge' had caused the teacher Iruka Umino and most the class to almost pass out from blood loss caused by massive nose bleeds, as well as most of the girls to call him a pervert and proceeded to hit him on the head. But, it was perfect and passed. However, his bunshin were crap and he had failed. 

The Jutsu had created a single copy of himself, but the copy was nothing more than a blob formed into the shape of a person. He would probably curse that Jutsu until he was buried, after which he would still curse it. The problem was that now his friends would probably not be around as much, but it could not be changed for now. He would have to try again in a couple of years.

"As much I would love to sit here with you guys, I'm going to go sit in the Forest Of Death and think." He said.

"Alright, Naruto. We'll meet you at Ichiraku's later then." Hinata said.

"See you then. Oh, and Shino," he said getting the boy's attention. "Don't have Anko _'talk'_ to them."

As Naruto walked away, he could have sworn he heard Shino mutter something about Naruto 'spoiling his fun.' It caused him to have a slight shiver. 

Shino, much like Anko, could also be one sadistic person when he wanted to be. 

Naruto continued to walk towards the Forest Of Death down one of the back roads of Konoha so as to be noticed less. Naruto knew they weren't actually back roads, but he had used the term for paths and roads in Konoha that were less used than most. 

He was then stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Mizuki, the other teacher, standing there. Naruto knew that Mizuki was one of the biggest saboteurs of his education. However, he decided to ignore it as it helped fit his mask. He had known for a long time that Mizuki hated him as everyone else did. He could see it in the man's eyes. 

However, Naruto had yet to figure out why just like everyone else. He had never trusted or liked the teacher, but pretended to have no clue because he wanted his mask to remain until it became more of a hindrance than a help. He would get stronger without the fool, so he saw no reason to make a big deal about it. The only problem was his inability to pass.

"Naruto, I'm glad I was able to find you. I'm here to give you your make-up exam." He said with a smile.

"Make-up exam?" He didn't believe this for a second but his mask was a guise of gullibility and needed to be maintained.

' _Too easy.'_ thought Mizuki. "Yes. Because you failed I was authorized to give you another chance."

"Alright, Mizuki-sensei. What's this test supposed to be exactly?" he asked, giving a broad smile.

* * *

 ** _It_ **was sad to admit, but taking the scroll from the perverted third Hokage had been all too easy. Naruto was sitting in the small clearing Mizuki told him to wait to receive his hitai-ate, the item that distinguished him as a graduate student. Now all that was left was to learn a technique from the scroll.

' _That means it won't be suspicious if I open it'._ Opening it gave Naruto the biggest shock of his life. There were notes in this scroll from the Shodaime, Nidaime, and even a few from when the Sandaime was younger. There were seals, notes, Jutsu, and even information about the bijuu, how to seal them, and jinchuuriki, _'Whatever those are.'_ Naruto thought, in the scroll.

 _No wonder Mizuki wants this.'_ Without giving it much thought Naruto set to work. Long ago he had gone to the library in the academy to learn about sealing scrolls so he could hide his food, clean water, and other valuables. His own control too insufficient to create his own seals, he merely needed to ask the Sandaime for some every once in a while.

So he did what anyone in his position would do. He copied everything he found and took everything sealed in the scroll and put them in his own scrolls. Once the scroll no longer had use to him compared to what he carried he quickly learned a Jutsu.

' _I'll need this when Mizuki gets here.'_ He quickly took to the Jutsu he chose, due to its lack of needed control, and closed the scroll just in time.

"Naruto, what do you think you're doing." Came a voice that was way too sweet sounding. He turned around to see Iruka.

' _I'm screwed'_ "Hey there Iruka-sensei. What are you doing here?" he said sounding nervous.

"I could ask you the same thing." Then he noticed that Naruto's clothes were slightly scuffed. _'Has he been training?'_

"Naruto!" they both turned to see Mizuki. _'Crap, with Iruka here I'm going to have to speed things along.'_ "Naruto you pass, now toss me the scroll and I'll give you your hitai-ate."

"No Mizuki I don't think I will. I think I will instead kick your ass" Naruto said.

"Strong words from a thirteen-year-old." Mizuki taunted. Iruka was about to tell Naruto to stand back before Naruto continued.

"You did tell me to learn one technique from the scroll."

' _Crap, I didn't expect him to actually learn something from the forbidden scroll. He has to be bluffing.'_ Mizuki thought _'Either way, I'll have to use the trump card.'_ "Naruto, would you like to know why everyone hates you?"

"No, Mizuki it's forbidden!" Iruka shouted.

"What do you two mean? Even the Hokage doesn't know that. I've asked him!"

"Well, that shows how much he can be trusted Naruto, since he made the law that no one can tell you this. Do you know the story of the Kyubbi that attacked the village?"

"Of course, the Yondaime killed it."

"Mizuki, shut up!" Iruka tried to intervene.

"NO!" this came from Naruto, shocking both instructors. "I want to know what you two are talking about!"

Mizuki smirked. "Well, you can't kill a bijuu. You have to seal it within another person. That day you were born the fourth sealed it into you! You are the Kyubbi! Now die!" Mizuki sent one of his large shuriken flying. Before Naruto could try to dodge or block it Iruka jumped in front of it and took the shuriken to his back.

"Why?" Naruto asked, shock in his eyes.

Iruka went on to explain how he no longer saw Naruto as the monster everyone else saw. How his own life allowed him to understand why Naruto acted as he did. He long ago new Naruto was using a mask to hide. He explained how he truly saw Naruto Uzumaki. He told Naruto how he came to think of Naruto as a younger brother because of how similar their lives were without family.

"Well, isn't that sweet. But I don't have time for this." Mizuki finished before he kicked Iruka away. "Now I'll take the scroll and kill you both."

"Wrong teme!" Naruto's face contorted into one of rage. "If you ever lay a hand on Iruka-Sensei, I will kill you!" He paused to give a thoughtful expression. "Oh wait. I'm already going to do that!" Naruto yelled as he made a hand seal before more than a hundred Narutos popped into existence. "Hold him down I want to finish him myself." 

Mizuki may have been a Chunin but it didn't take long before he was restrained with the clones pulling each limb in a different direction. The real one walked up to his head before whispering in his ear "good-bye." A sickening snap filled the clearing as Naruto broke Mizuki's neck.

Iruka was shocked to say the least. But when Naruto looked at him he was terrified. Naruto's eyes finally showed his true face as the mask was shattered. His eyes showed the calculating, smart side. They showed his hatred, as well as the calm. They showed that he was no longer the idiot with a smile. His face was blank.

"Well, Iruka-sensei. Let's get back to the Hokage." Iruka simply nodded as Naruto helped him remove the shuriken from his back. With the adrenaline leaving his system mixed with the pain, it was not long before Iruka was being carried unconscious on Naruto's shoulder while he carried the scroll under his other arm.

That the Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was shocked was an understatement. He never would have guessed that the real Naruto would have been capable of something like this. He knew that the real Naruto would have undergone some changes under the mask over time, but this still shocked him. 

Well, he only found him and tuned in once Mizuki had gotten there so didn't know about Naruto's cleansing of the scroll. They would be in his office soon so he put away the ball and stood in front of his desk to wait.

He was not surprised when Naruto came in without Iruka. _'He must have given him to a guard so he could be taken to the hospital.'_ "So, Naruto could you tell me all of what happened?"

"Sure, but first I would like you to make sure no one else is listening." His reply was a privacy seal being activated, and a signal for the ANBU, the elite of Konoha's shinobi, to leave.

Naruto walked closer with his face still blank. He put down the scroll before he further shocked the Hokage. Naruto punched the grandfather figure in the stomach causing him to lean over in pain. The Sandaime hadn't expected Naruto to attack him. They were close, and he saw himself as Naruto's closest thing to family. The saying was true then. Even the greatest could be taken down by what they didn't see coming. Even a stray kunai could take down a Kage if they didn't stop it or see it.

Naruto spoke, his voice low and cold, "Did you think that would not happen?! You lied to me! Every time I asked, you looked me in the eye and lied through your teeth. Did you think I could not be trusted? That I couldn't accept the knowledge? What other lies have you told me? Do you know who my parents are?" 

The Kage was panicking. This was all unraveling. "N-Naruto. Listen-"

"You listen, you have lost my trust. You should be glad I killed Mizuki, because if I hadn't I would still be angry, no pissed off, and would probably have had a kunai in my hand when I punched you." 

The man's eyes widened at this. He might be dead had Naruto acted differently. The thought that he could be dead caught him off guard and instilled fear in him.

"Oh, and let's not forget I still need you to tell me what you know. I'm going home." He removed his fist and turned around. "Things are going to be different now. I hope you realize that," he said as he walked out the door.


	3. Chapter 03

_**Naruto**_ woke to the sound of knocking. There was someone at the door. When Naruto got out of bed he was wearing his orange pants with single black lines running down the outside of both legs, and his Uzumaki patch on his left hip. He was also dressed in a black shirt with the Uzumaki swirl on his back made out of red line and filled in with white.

As he made his way to the door, he had to wonder who could be there right now and what they wanted. When he opened the door, he didn't expect to be pulled into a hug, nor did he expect his face to be pulled into some large assets. The one hugging him was none other than Anko who wanted to both hug, and strangle the blonde at the same time. She figured this would do.

"Anko, I don't think he can breathe with his face right there." In actuality, despite sounding amused, Shino was actually jealous while Hinata was blushing.

When she released Naruto from her grip she spoke. "Alright, spill it. What happened? You didn't show up to Ichiraku's last night, causing these two to come and find me. Meanwhile, I was summoned by the Hokage to track you down after you stole the forbidden scroll. Now you have to tell us why."

Naruto nodded. "Come inside and I'll explain." His face looked grim.

When they got in, Hinata spoke first. "Naruto, when you d-didn't join me and Shino at Ichiraku's we became w-worried. We went to find Anko, but all she s-said was that she couldn't talk at the moment because she was trying to find you. She looked pissed."

"I was looking for you because apparently you had stolen the forbidden scroll," Anko responded. "Now why don't you tell us what happened Naruto," Anko said sounding falsely sweet.

' _Great, here comes the shit storm'_ Naruto thought to himself before he let loose a tired sigh. "Well, I guess I should tell you how I came to create a mask to hide my true self, how last night it shattered, and how I killed Mizuki before punching the Hokage." His audience stood there gaping at him.

Anko was thinking to herself _'Oh I have got to hear this.'_ He went on to explain how the village hated him, how he had created his mask to try to appease them, how last night he had gone through with Mizuki's plan so he could single out the traitor, and everything that had happened last night. What he dreaded was the telling Hinata and Shino about the Kyuubi. He knew Anko already knew, so he didn't worry too much about her. He could trust her. When he got done telling them how he was the container for the Kyuubi and how it had caused so much of his misery, he looked at the three of them expectantly.

Hinata was the first to act. She wrapped her arms around him pulling him into an embrace. "We are your friends Naruto. No matter what has happened, there is no way we could hate you for this. We will always be here for you." She said as she started to cry into his right shoulder.

' _Hinata, thank you.'_ Naruto thought as he wrapped his own right arm around her.

The next was Shino who put his hand on Naruto's free shoulder before speaking. "You once defended me because I had something living in me. I could not control that aspect of my life. I shall always do the same for you, my friend."

Anko was the last to speak. "You know I already knew. So all I have to say is that I'm sorry I never told you." She sounded almost depressed. Naruto extended his left arm in a sign of forgiveness. She spoke again, smiling this time. "I hate group hugs, but I'll make an exception this time.

"What do you mean grou-" Shino never finished his sentence as Anko pulled him and herself closer together and into Naruto's extended arm as she enforced said group hug. She wrapped one arm around Naruto and Shino, while the other went around Hinata before she squeezed them in what could have classified as a B-rank Taijutsu death-grip.

There was a collective "Anko I can't breathe" before she let them go, smirking to herself. Their moment was interrupted by a knock at the door. Naruto quickly went to see who it was this time.

' _Who knows, maybe it's another ground-breaking life-changer.'_ When he opened the door it was Iruka. "Sensei, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in the hospital?"

Iruka smiled, "Yeah, but they had a medic-nin help patch me up. The shuriken didn't go too deep, so they dismissed me without too much argument. They patched me up, told me not to move too much for a couple of days, and said I could go. However, I'm here for more important reasons." He said as he pulled out a hitai-ate and handed it to Naruto.

"What is this?" asked the stunned Naruto.

"Because you mastered the Kage Bunshin, the Hokage thought you deserved it. He also told me to tell you he was sorry, and that after he cleared his schedule he wanted to talk to you. Mind if I asked what happened?"

"Maybe later. For now, I just want to say thank you for becoming someone I can trust."

"What do you mean Naruto?"

"Just take my words to heart sensei."

Iruka gave Naruto a confused look before sighing and accepting it. "Alright, you're welcome Naruto, also I think I should inform you that team placement is in a few minutes. You might want to hurry up. My replacement won't wait on you."

"Oh no, we forgot." They heard Hinata say.

"Hinata! Shino! What are you doing here? You're going to be late."

Anko walked up and said, "Don't worry, I'll get them there on time."

"S-Sure A-Anko. I'll l-leave it to y-you." Anko still scared the crap out of him. "Uh, as long as you all get there on time. I'll see you later Naruto."

"Good-bye Sensei. I'll see you later." Naruto responded, before Iruka left. Iruka tried not to run, due to his orders not to move too much. Anko still scared the crap out of him. Once, a child who failed the genin exam paid her in Dango and sick satisfaction to, as she put it, _'talk'_ to him. He lasted all of ninety seconds before he said he would change his report. Just the memory of the event made him shiver.

Meanwhile, Naruto closed the door before thinking to himself _'Maybe the Hokage is here to tell me I've been chosen as the Godaime.'_ As he opened the door to find nothing on the other side. _'Darn it'_

"What are you doing?" Anko asked.

"Nothing. So how are we going to get there on time?"

"I'll handle that." Anko said. "I'll use Shunshin. It's a technique that allows me to move at high speeds. Grab my arm and try not to puke." As much as they wanted to know how to do this and why they might puke, they knew they were short on time and grabbed her arms.

When they got there, there were several different reactions. Shino hid it well, but was excessively dizzy, Hinata threw up in a corner, Naruto did better but was actively trying not to do the same as Hinata, and Anko let loose a sigh over Hinata's actions. Some of their classmates were shocked by their arrival, some, Shikamaru, were disinterested because it was too troublesome, and finally the teacher that hated the theatrical entrance face-palmed.

"Alright, alright, time for me to get out of here. Good luck" Anko said before disappearing with another Shunshin.

' _I've got to learn how to do that'_ went through many of the student's heads.

Waving it off like it was just a distraction the replacement teacher spoke, "Alright, come on! Let's get this over with, I've got a poker game after this." Naruto, Shino, and Hinata quickly sat down.

"Hey, dead-last, I thought you failed." Came Sakura's voice.

"I did, but when I killed Mizuki after he betrayed the village, the powers that be decided I deserved a promotion." Was the only response she got from the blonde who was sitting there waiting with little emotion on his face.

Shocked, she couldn't say anything before the teacher continued giving off team placement.

* * *

_**To**_ say that Naruto was disappointed was an understatement. He and his friends had been separated be that ridiculous team placement. He ended up on a team with Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. His relationship with the two was limited, to say the least. One, he had tried to get close to. He tried to help Sasuke when he was in the same class so that he could fulfill his promise to Itachi. However, this was difficult, seeing as how Sasuke distanced himself from everyone. Now Naruto knew what Itachi was talking about.

Sakura was originally on Naruto's list of people that might fit the obvious choices for his mask. She was someone that others would have expected to see his fake persona going after. However, he was happy he found friends in Shino and Hinata so he didn't have to deal with such idiocy.

Naruto did have to say that waiting for three hours for their new team leader was beginning to make him angry. However, while sitting there Sakura decided to ask Naruto about the sudden change in attitude.

"Naruto, what happened to you? You're acting differently than usual." While he tried to hide his interest, Sasuke was also curious, considering how he talked about killing a Chunin.

Naruto gave a short and derisive chuckle. "Well, the answer to your question is simple. All that time you knew me.... what you actually knew was nothing more than a mask I wore to get some of you idiots off of my back. Last night, when Mizuki tried to steal the forbidden scroll, revealed a secret that was punishable by death, tried to kill me and Iruka-sensei, and, last but not least, pissed me off, I dropped the mask and used a Jutsu I recently learned to kill that teme."

They were too stunned to respond. The Naruto they knew was just a mask. Even Sasuke had a small amount of shock on his face. At that moment, Naruto was stood up. He was tired of waiting.

"I'm heading to the roof." He said

"But what about waiting for our sensei." Sakura stood up trying to stop him from getting them into trouble.

"I'm done waiting here. You can tell him where I'm at when he finally gets here. But first...." He didn't finish as he went to work with some rope and a panel that he pulled out of a scroll. Sakura and Sasuke stared at him, wondering what he was doing. Naruto continued setting something up for their late sensei, before leaving. The entire time he paid their stares no mind. They thought they heard him chuckle darkly before he was gone.

It was another thirty minutes before their sensei, Kakashi Hatake, walked through the door. He was about to speak before he heard a click. "What was-" was all he said before a panel appeared under his feet and some hidden ropes sent him flying out the window. The two sitting in the class sweat-dropped that he was fooled so easily.

After another few moments, he walked back into the room, much more cautiously this time, while pulling a branch out of his clothing. "Well, my first impression of you is that....where's the other one?"

"He said he would be on the roof. He was tired of waiting for you in here." Sakura said.

' _Well, that's a first. I guess it's time to go meet this Naruto Uzumaki.'_ "Alright, seeing as how the other one is already there, meet me on the roof." He said before he Shunshined to the roof. The two ran to the roof wondering what was going to happen between them and the two mysteries they were now on the same team with.

When Kakashi got to the roof, he found Naruto sitting on the railing reading a book. "Can I assume that you are the one who set that trap in the class?"

He received a nod in response.

"I already don't like you," Kakashi said.

"Why? Because I set a trap for you or because you fell for it?"

"A bit of both actually."

"Well that's too bad," Naruto said, "according to this book there has been an age-old argument over whether or not it is better to be loved or feared. I quite personally lean toward being loved. When people fear you they might take drastic measures to get rid of their fear."

"That sounds like a wise assessment," Kakashi responded. "You like to read and can give some good wisdom. Perhaps you aren't so bad after all." He finished with a strange eye-smile before they were joined by Sakura and Sasuke. "Good, I think it's about time we introduced ourselves. Sit down. I'll go first.

"My name is Kakashi Hatake. I have no desire to tell you about my likes and dislikes. Dreams for the future...Hmm. And I have lots of hobbies."

"All we learned was your name," Sakura said.

"Very astute," Naruto said.

"What about you?" Kakashi said, pointing to sakura.

"My name is Sakura Haruno. What I like, or rather who I like..." she said as she started looking at Sasuke. "My hobbies are...." She continued to look at the brooding teammate. "My dream for the future is..." she said before squealing.

Kakashi sighed. "And what about your dislikes?"

Sakura would have originally have said Naruto, but she now knew very little about this new him. "Ino."

Kakashi sighed again. "And what about you, the one brooding."

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything. And what I have, is not a dream. I will make it a reality. I will restore my clan, and I will destroy a certain person."

' _Great, a fan-girl, an avenger, and an imbecile if the file is correct.'_ Kakashi thought to himself, before gesturing to Naruto. "And what about you?"

"My name, as a Jonin like you with all of our files probably knows, is Naruto Uzumaki. My likes are reading, planning, my friends, and keeping my word. My dislikes include, but are not limited to hypocrites, idiots, people who can't see past their own hatred of something to see reality, and betrayal. My hobbies include planning, spending time with friends and people I trust, and training. And my dream is to gain respect, become acknowledged by this village, and to become the Hokage."

' _Interesting, the final member of this team is the exact opposite of what I was expecting. I'll have to ask the Hokage about that later.'_ "Well, now that we know each other it's time to get ready for your exam tomorrow."

"Sensei, didn't we already have our exam? That's why we are here to begin with." Sakura said.

"Actually that was just to weed out those who couldn't handle it. Tomorrow you will take an exam to decide whether or not you become Genin or go back to the academy. Meet me at six am on Training Ground 7. Good luck. Oh, and you shouldn't eat breakfast or you might throw up. See ya."

"Well," Naruto said standing up and stretching, "I'll see you tomorrow. Oh, and I would disregard some of his orders."

"What foolishness are you spouting now idiot?" Sasuke asked arrogantly.

"I'm saying that if you don't eat you won't have the energy for whatever is going to happen. I'd rather throw up." As much as Sasuke hated to admit it Naruto was right.

Before Sakura could speak up to call Naruto a baka, Sasuke said, "He's right, we should spend more time getting stronger than listening to orders that might get us killed."

"Oh Sasuke, you're so cool." Sakura squealed with delight.

' _I'm out'_ Naruto thought before taking off. With the hitai-ate on his head, he no longer had to worry about the villagers. He was now virtually untouchable by them because of it. He knew that no matter how small of a part he was, he was part of Konoha's military. The villagers might be unfathomably stupid, but they weren't about to attack a member of the military. That would give Naruto and the Hokage all the reason needed to justify having the villagers responsible put to death.

However, as happy as he was about that, the Hokage wanted to see him. Time to go see what he could get out of the village leader.

When he got to the Hokage tower it was not long before he stood in front of the Hokage. If one were to look closely you could tell said leader had been crying. Naruto was both looking forward to this talk and dreading it.

"You wanted to see me Lord Sandaime." The third was shocked by the coldness in his voice.

"Hello, Naruto. I wanted to talk to you." The Hokage said, sounding like he was trying to suppress his sadness.

"I gathered that much from Iruka. What do you want to talk about? If all you want to say is that you are sorry, well I got that from Iruka as well."

"I- What I wanted to talk to you about I need your word won't leave this room." He said as he activated the privacy seal.

"It will not leave this room except for the few I have in my own inner circle. If there is one thing I've learned, it's that I'm the more trustworthy of the two of us." Naruto said, a scowl growing on his face.

The Sandaime sighed. Getting closer to Naruto again was going to be difficult. "As long as it won't become common knowledge.....I'm going to tell you about your parents." The look of shock on Naruto's face was priceless. He didn't expect to get it out of the man this easy. "Walk with me." The Kage said as he stood up.

* * *

_**A**_ few hours later and they were walking in the woods behind the Hokage monument.

"So my parents, they were one of the last Uzumaki and the fourth Hokage."

"Yes, their names are both on the memorial stone if you want to stop by there tomorrow."

"Their last wish- did you even tell anyone about it? Did you even try to tell the villagers what the Yondaime's last wish was? Did you even try to stop this village's stupidity?"

"I did, but they were blinded and would not listen to reason."

"Well, then that is not your fault. What is your fault though is how I have lived all my life." Naruto said, his voice taking on an ominous undertone.

"What do you mean?" He asked even though he already had a feeling about what he was saying.

"My parents left me their house, accounts, and everything else. Yet I lived, getting barely enough to survive from you, in a small apartment that was constantly vandalized, and as I recall when I was five the old place I lived in was burnt down. I didn't have much of a problem with that last one aside from the fact that I was still inside. If not for Itachi, I would be dead." His voice was getting darker and it made Sarutobi shudder. "I want it all" Naruto said shocking the Hokage.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I want my inheritance. All of it. You don't have a right to deny it from me anyways. You might have the power to do so, but not the right. It was left to me by my father and mother, if anything, I'm the only one in this world with the right to determine how thee things are handled."

"Naruto I don't think-"

"What you think no longer has much value to me. You have no right to say no, now I'll say it again. I want all of it."

"Fine, but I would request you don't start attracting attention. You promised you would keep it a secret."

"That I did. You see this was my first test for you. That fact that it didn't take much to get this from you means you are trying to get back on my good side, or at the very least you still feel remorse at lying to me. This won't be my last test for you, but you should know that it will not be easy to get my trust back. I will simply change some things, but I do intend on using my new home. I'll move my own belongings. Don't bother trying to send people to help, it will only attract attention."

"I-I understand. I truly am sorry." He said as he pulled an envelope out of his robes and handed it to Naruto before he turned to walk away. For now, leaving Naruto to his own devices might be best.

"I'll talk to you later old man," Naruto said before putting some distance between himself and the Hokage. Once he was alone he quickly created 10 clones. "Keep yourselves hidden, don't draw attention to yourselves. Other than that you know what to do." He said before they disappeared. The envelope he had been given contained the location of his parents' home, which was not too far away from his current location, the key to said home, and forms needed to access those accounts that now belonged to him. All of the jutsu scrolls that his parents owned would be in his home.

When he got there he expected to find a mansion fitting for a Kage. While the home was large it was smaller than expected. The home was two stories tall with a design like that of an ancient Japanese castle with white walls and black roofing. Inside were four bedrooms, two bathrooms not including the bathroom inside the master bedroom separated by a door, a large kitchen, an even larger living room, an even larger library, and a good-sized office, and a small, walk-in closet that acted as a small armory. The walls had blades, kunai, shuriken, paper bombs, and Hiraishin Kunai on the shelves. He could tell that it was little more than a storage closet for weapons, but it was still amazing.

The four rooms had obvious uses. One was set up to be the room Naruto would have been in when he was born, two were guest bedrooms, and of course the master bedroom. The kitchen was completely void of food but all the appliances and such were still there and looked to be completely untouched during the past thirteen years.

The living room had several couches and chairs, a few shelves with board games and books on it, and a screen that was projected on by the projector in the wall. It was like a miniature theater as the windows could be covered with curtains that blocked out the light.

Deciding to get to the most important thing, he headed towards the library. The large, well carved, mahogany double doors had beautifully carved and complex designs of four intertwined dragons blowing fire and doing what could almost be called a dance. This image entranced Naruto for a moment before he opened them to find a room that seemed much larger than it should have been. All across the walls and filling the room were shelves covered in books, scrolls, pictures, notes, and other items. The sight astounded Naruto. However, he was broken from his trance as the ten clones had come in.

"Boss, where do you want this?" The Alpha clone asked.

"Take food, water and such to the kitchen and put them in the appropriate place. Take everything else and follow me to the office." The real one said as he walked to the office where he would store everything else until he found a good place for them. He had still yet to check what he got from the forbidden scroll. _'I don't intend on even using most of what's in that library until later. I will build my own strength for now. I might learn some of them over time but for now, it doesn't matter.'_ "Alright, all but five of you. Begone, or however I get rid of you."

"Dispel works." Said one of the clones before it dispelled along with four others.

"Hm. So I get their memories. Later I'm going to have to experiment with what I can do with these clones. Alright you five that are left, go see what you can find on Kakashi Hatake. I want to know as much about him as possible. Also, get any information you can on the Uzumaki and their home. Don't bother taking the documents. Just read them. I'll know. But bring me the information you find of the Uzumaki."

They clasped their right fists over their hearts and their left arms behind their backs in a salute they had created. "Hai!" they said in unison before taking off.

' _Well, I could get used to this. Things are changing. But I think it's time I plan for something important. I say there's a four- no make that three percent chance of it happening, but I never thought that the Third would deceive me. I should plan for it just in case.'_ He thought to himself before he took a folder and wrote one word, betrayal, on the first page and two words, **Winter Contingency** , on the cover before putting it down on his new desk. Things were definitely about to change.


	4. Chapter 04

_**Naruto**_ had only had the clones for around 30 hours but already he was using them to their greatest ability. While he slept he had them reading over the information they had gathered on the Uzumaki. While the information they found on Kakashi before they returned was extremely interesting, the memories he woke up to were even more so. Uzushiogakure was the home of the Uzumaki clan and the hidden village of the Land of Whirlpools and was also known as the Hidden Eddy Village or the Village Hidden by Whirling Tides. While Uzumaki was a common name on the large island that made up the Land of Whirlpools, only the Uzumaki clan that made up most of the population had the gift of longevity as well as some of their other gifts.

The clan were distant relatives of the Senju and this had helped solidify their good ties with Konoha. Mito Uzumaki, who was a prime example of their long life, had been the wife of the Shodaime Hokage. It was right around the time that his mother was brought there that the Land of Whirlpools had been destroyed. There wasn't much more information there about it but what interested Naruto the most was that sometime during the battle on the island a seal was activated that dispersed a massive wave that for all intents and purposes killed everyone still on the island and around it before a dome-like barrier appeared and blocked off the massive island. However, a few of the Uzumaki clan were able to survive and scattered across the lands.

He would have to see what he could find in the library later in order to see if it would help him. Who knows? Maybe his ancestral home could one day become truly important once again. For now, it was time to head out. It was two and a half hours after their sensei said to meet him, but he was sure that the man would take even longer than him. Besides he would see him at the memorial stone he was going to stop by on the way. It was in the man's file.

When he walked up to the memorial stone he instantly saw Kakashi. When he got close the man noticed him and turned around. "What are you doing here Naruto? Aren't you supposed to be at the training ground?"

"Did you really think that after your stunt yesterday I would believe you were late because you got lost on the road of life? Not likely. It's why I also ate breakfast. I'd rather puke than be too hungry to do whatever we are doing. Though I doubt that you were serious about it."

"Hm...you surly are smarter than your file said. Alright, but why come here? I've never seen you here before."

"Well, now that I'm a ninja its time I started paying respect to those who gave me the chance to get this far."

"That is wise," Kakashi said as he noticed Naruto brushing over one name in particular. "Why are you brushing that name in particular Naruto?"

"He's the Yondaime. Without him getting rid of the Kyuubi I wouldn't be here and this village would have fallen a long time ago." He spoke calmly.

"Alright, head over to the training ground. I'll be over there soon."

"Sure." He said walking away. Just before he left he spoke. "Oh, and if you take more than thirty minutes to get over there I'm going to make you wish your habit was to be early."

"Oh, and how are you going to back that up?"

"Well remember that time when all the ANBU couldn't stop scratching themselves?"

"Yes," Kakashi responded, dreading where this was going.

"Itching powder in all of their bathing items, cloths including their underwear, and their masks. It was tricky but not difficult."

Kakashi was now afraid. All of his clothes he could handle. But his masks? That would be trouble. Without trying to sound scared he tried to play it off. "Don't worry. I'll be there."

Naruto smirked knowing he had hit a nerve when he mentioned the masks. "I'll be waiting." He said before he walked off.

When he walked out of the bushes and onto the training ground he heard a loud, "You're late!"

Sasuke and Sakura had gotten there forty-five minutes ago.

"Well, I'm here now. Sensei will be here within the next thirty minutes." He said.

"How would you know that?" Sakura asked.

"Call it....intuition," Naruto said with a wicked grin.

Before they could respond he put plugs into his ears to cancel the noise and opened his book. Later on, just before Naruto hit thirty minutes Kakashi walked out of the bushes.

"You're late!" Sakura yelled. Naruto sighed because he couldn't hurt Kakashi, and Sasuke had gotten over it.

"Well my new team, it's time for your test." He said as he pulled out two bells and a clock. "Your task is to take these bells from me before noon. It's already nine so let's hurry up. You have three hours. Whoever doesn't get a bell gets tied to a post while the rest of us eat. And you also fail, leading you to be sent back to the academy."

"But sensei, there are only two bells," Sakura said.

"Very astute. That is because at least one of you will fail." He said with another weird eye-smile.

All but Naruto were shocked. _'We're being played.'_ Naruto thought to himself. Now the only job I have is to make the others see it. "Get on with it!" Naruto said.

"You sure sound cocky Naruto. You're going to need to come at me with the intent to kill in order to beat me."

"You might be a Jonin, but I killed Mizuki-teme without much trouble."

"Fine, begin." The moment the words left his mouth Sasuke and Sakura disappeared. _'Well, at least they have that down.'_ He thought before he noticed Naruto still standing there. "You know you should be hiding right."

"No, I'm supposed to get those bells. Hiding from an enemy when I have a limited time to retrieve an object is counterproductive. Now, if I need to come at you with the intent to kill, then perhaps I should do what I did to kill Mizuki." He said before preforming a hand seal causing several hundred copies to appear.

"Uh....don't you think that's a bit much Naruto?" Kakashi asked

His only response was, "Hold him down." Instantly the clones rushed all at once. _'They were weaker clones' so I can actually do that. He's a Jonin so it might not have mattered. That and his Sharingan. If he needs to he will use it. Time to get going.'_ He thought before taking off through the trees.

While he was trying to find his teammates his sensei had his hands full. For each clone, he kicked away or punched in the face another appeared. _'I can't use my kunai because I can't even tell which one is the real one. Crap'_ he thought before lifting his hitai-ate to reveal his Sharingan.

' _What?!'_ Sasuke shouted in his mind. _'How does he have that? He's not an Uchiha. Who did he take that from?!'_

Back to the fight, Kakashi was freaking out. They all had the same amount of chakra. The Hokage told him that Naruto learned a new Jutsu from the scroll but something like this was purely unheard of. 

Not to mention the sheer number of them had to be impossible. With the Kyuubi, it would be understandable, but it was still surprising. 

However, Kakashi didn't have time to think as he focused on dispelling the clones. He quickly kicked one in the face before picking one up by the arm and using it to knock away five others.

While Kakashi had his hands full Naruto was about to get Sasuke to help him.

"Hey there Sasuke," Naruto said looking over the Uchiha's shoulder. Said Uchiha nearly had a heart attack.

"Naruto!?" He said clutching where his heart was. "What the hell are you doing here? Aren't you out there?"

"Three hundred clones and you thought I would be among them? No, I'm here to tell you the true purpose of this test."

"What do you mean the true purpose?"

"We were already promoted. That's why we have these hitai-ate. This is a test. I believe they are testing our ability to work together."

"So what, if we fail we aren't going back to the academy?"

"No, that part is true. We just need to complete the actual test. Not this bell crap. But to do that we need to get Haruno and make our whole team. Understand?"

"What if you are lying to make sure you get a bell?"

"If I was do you think I would need you? I could make more clones. Even if I did need you would you rather work with me or Haruno? You stand everything to gain from working with me. Look at him. I might take him down before time runs out but, but do you honestly think you can say the same? Look at him. That is Kakashi Hatake of the Sharingan. The man who copied one thousand Jutsu. I'll tell you what I know later, but for now, I need you to help me. Can you do that?"

Sasuke nodded. He didn't have much choice. Naruto made too good a point.

"Good, now let's find Haruno. More than half the clones are gone, so we don't have much time." Naruto said as they took off to look for the pink-haired girl. By the time they found her the clones were down to seventy. However, with Sasuke there, it wasn't hard to convince her to join. Now all that was left was to plan how to take down Hatake. Naruto took care of that.

Once they were done with that they quickly surrounded Kakashi as he finished the last clone. _'Well, they only have twenty minutes left. Not long. But just that one put me to work. I almost can't breathe.'_ He thought as he was breathing heavily.

However, he didn't have much time to rest before he heard someone yell, "Katon: Fire Ball Jutsu!" It was not hard for Kakashi to decide he should move. As he went to move to his right away from the nearby river, shuriken came flying at him from the woods forcing him to move closer to the river. But while he was still in the air twenty-five Naruto clones came out of the water and jumped him. He quickly escaped by using the kawarimi to replace himself with a clone. He didn't expect them all to instantly stop fighting and stand up.

"Well, you lose sensei." One of the clones said before they all dispelled.

Before Kakashi could respond her heard clapping and turned around to see Naruto with the bells at his right hip. When he looked down his own were gone. "Well Naruto, you win. There are still a few seconds for you to make sure one of the others gets a bell."

"You and I both know that was never the purpose of this test. Come on out!" Naruto yelled before Sasuke and Sakura Came out of the trees with a smirk and a confident smile respectively.

"Alright team, fine, you pass. You were able to see that the true purpose of the test was teamwork. This is important because anyone who breaks the rules are trash. But I'm here to tell you that those who abandon their teammates are worse than trash. Now, meet me here tomorrow and we shall begin training and taking missions." It didn't take long for his team to leave him there.

_'Well, that Naruto really is different from the report I got. He is smart, strong, and quick to act. He used those clones as a distraction before gathering his team and convincing them to work with each other. Once he did that he had Sasuke and Sakura push me to the river where his clones jumped me. While I was distracted, and before I could replace myself, he came from behind the tree and took the bells. The moment I got out the clones stopped because I had already lost. This will be interesting.'_

* * *

_**It**_ was now three days after the bell test and Naruto was tired from a day of D-rank missions. He hated to admit it, but Shikamaru was right. They were troublesome. However, he was now on his way to Ichiraku's to eat with and talk to his friends. When he got there they were already waiting and had ordered for him.

"Naruto, you finally made it. How're things going with your team?" Anko asked.

"Fine. However, I almost killed that cat." Was his response.

"Yeah, you and everyone else in this village," Hinata said, holding her head as if just talking about that cat brought on a migraine. Instantly the others followed suit.

"Well, when we're done here there's something you need to know," Naruto said. He was trying to suppress his laughter.

"What is it Naruto?" Shino asked.

"I'll tell you when we're done. All four of us are going for a walk."

"Whatever, once we get done he pays for all of our diners and then tells us and it fine," Anko said, smirking.

"Let's slow down Anko, I can barely afford my own food," Naruto said trying to sound pathetic, even though he knew he had the almost bottomless account of the Yondaime Hokage.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm going to want to kill you later?" Anko asked, pulling out her wallet.

"Trust me, you would miss me too much."

"He has a point," Shino said.

Naruto was now standing in front of his friends with his arms stretched to the side theatrically in his library watching his friends gawk at what they were seeing and what they had just learned.

"So... How long have you know that you were the inheritor of one of the greatest legacies of the shinobi world?" Anko forced herself to speak.

"Four days ago. And how about that, your faces are priceless." Naruto responded as he started chuckling.

"Naruto, do you realize t-that with this and your Kage Bunshin you c-could learn all of this within the next couple of years?" Hinata asked.

"Of course. However, I have decided to leave most of what's in here alone for the time being."

"Why would you do that?!" Anko nearly yelled. "Are you insane?!"

"No. However, if I were to start learning things from the library of the Yellow Flash it might draw attention. I can't afford that right now. I do intend on learning some of these things over time, but if I learned enough I wouldn't be able to stop myself from using it and it would expose who I am. And besides. I already told the third that I would keep this in my inner circle. I can't have this getting out."

"He does have a point," Shino said. "While the Hiraishin and the Rasengan were his signature Jutsu, there were many techniques for which the Yondaime was known for. Granted, your Kage Bunshin was also used by him. They were also created by the Nidaime and used by a few people. However, I'm sure that on the scale Naruto uses them not many will be thinking about the Yondaime's use of them"

"Yes, even though others used them, like Jiraiya of the Sannin uses the Rasengan and the Nidaime Tobirama invented the Hiraishin, it would still stand out if another person used these. They aren't exactly easy to hide. That and the Hiraishin would take a long time to learn, even for me. The only people who the Yondaime ever taught this Jutsu to need to focus together to use it. Their knowledge is worthless when they are separated and don't have the time to get into position."

"S-So, what are you going to do now?" Hinata asked.

"I'm going to ask that you all take this secret to your graves unless I die or tell you its fine. This, my friends, is the mark that I truly trust you. You have stayed with me even when I revealed my curse. I have looked into your eyes and seen only that you are my friends and I can count on you. Now, tomorrow I intend to get my first C-rank, so I must say good-night because I'm going to need my rest, and good-by in case I don't see you before I leave."

"How would you know you're going to get a C-rank?" Shino asked. "You have only been on duty for three days."

"Because, other than tomorrow, if I have to catch that cat one more time I'm going to use its pelt to make a new cap. Now, good-night." Naruto said as they left.

"Good, that's another one done for today. Now let's see here. We have painting a fence, catching Tora the cat-"

"No! No more will I catch that stupid cat. If I have to do it again I'll use its pelt to make a cap." The Hokage knew he was serious. "How about you stop with the chores and give us a real mission."

"Naruto, you can't just demand a C-rank. You've only been a genin for four days."

"No Iruka, Naruto here took down a Chunin on his own. If he thinks his team is ready then let's give it to him. Come on in." The Hokage said as Iruka tried to protest.

The client who walked in was Tazuna. The man was obviously on his way to being drunk. "What's this? A scare-crow, a duck-haired emo, a fan-girl, and a runt. What kind of protection is this?"

Naruto was the first to speak. "The kind that can still kill you before you can blink in thirty-two different ways and still have time to keep your hat from touching the floor." The bridge builder shuddered before remembering that they couldn't touch him, they were his protection.

"Look here kid, your job is to protect me until my bridge is complete. You understand that?"

"Oh... so my C-rank is to protect a drunk bridge builder from, what, the alcoholics anonymous?"

You could see the sparks flying as they glared at each other. "That is super bridge builder to you, and you will be protecting me from bandits and thieves. Meat me at the South gate in one hour." The 'super' bridge builder said as he walked out the door.

"Well, for meeting the client of my first C-rank that was really anti-climactic," Naruto said causing everyone to face-palm at his remark.

* * *

 _ **It**_ was time for Naruto to make good on his word and help Sasuke. Naruto had long ago figured out what Itachi meant due to Sasuke's behavior. They still had forty-five minutes before they had to meet the bridge builder and Naruto was going to use them. Sasuke was currently standing on one of the many roofs of Konoha and Naruto walked up next to him as he was finally noticed.

"What do you want dole?"

"Only to talk. We are on the same team now so I may as well go ahead and get it over with."

"No, just because we are on the same team does not mean we need to talk. All you need to do is stay out of my way."

"Had I stayed out of your way you would have failed the bell test." Naruto taunted.

"Grr. Is there something specific you want?!" Sasuke said, getting angry.

"Look Sasuke, were going to need to work together in the near future, so we might as well get to know each other. Besides, as much as I hate to admit it, the client was right. You do act broody."

"Shut up! What do you know of it?! I had everything taken from me! I need to get stronger and I don't need your stupidity getting in my way!"

"Do you think you and I are so different? You and I both know the pain of being alone."

"Our pain is nothing alike! I had everything ripped away from me, by my own brother no less! You never had anything! You don't know my pain!"

"How we wound up alone is important, but we both know its sting. Besides, I could one day know your pain. That pain of losing everything. But what you fail to realize is that you could never know my pain. You were right, I never had anything. You at least knew your family. I will never have that luxury. My pain will always remain unknown to you." Naruto's words shocked Sasuke. He had never thought of it like that. When he looked at Naruto he had always seen someone who at least didn't know the pain of losing everything, someone who could never know his pain. But in reality, it was the other way around. "Now that I have opened your eyes to how wrong you truly were, what will you do?" Naruto said just before he took off. He needed to pack a scroll. He couldn't help shaking the feeling that this trip was going to be important.

They had been walking along their road for a while now and had yet to run into trouble. While Naruto and Sakura were walking on Tazuna's sides, Kakashi was walking in the back, and Sasuke was walking ahead while deep in thought. As they walked past a puddle, the only two who took note of it were Naruto and Kakashi. They said nothing as they passed deciding to let it play out but Naruto gave Kakashi a small hidden signal.

Once they were passed the two brothers hiding in the Genjutsu, Meizu and Gozu, emerged getting ready to attack. They quickly took down Kakashi with the chain between their gauntlets.

"One down!" They said at the same time.

"Four to go!" They shouted as they rushed Naruto.

Before they got to close Naruto quickly made several dozen clones.

"Ha! You think those will stop us?!" They continued rushing, shrugging off their surprise at seeing this Jutsu, that had not been used by many since the Yondaime, used on such a scale.

They quickly tore through them before stabbing Naruto in the stomach.

"AAAAHHHHH!" Naruto yelled with pain on his face. The missing-nin was about to continue before Naruto instantly stopped and looked at them smiling. "Gotcha!" He said before dispersing.

"Bunshin?!" They yelled before everything went black.

In reality, while they tore through the clones the real one had a clone stand where he was and snuck behind them to knock them out from behind. As Naruto tied them up to a tree Kakashi came out of the trees shocking all but Naruto as the others looked to a torn-up log.

"Good job Naruto," Kakashi said with another weird eye-smile. "Same to you as well Sasuke and Sakura. Your immediate reaction was to guard Tazuna in the event that Naruto failed. Good thinking." However, he turned serious as he looked at Tazuna. "Why were they after you?"

"What do you mean?" Tazuna asked nervously, trying to play it off.

"They took me out but none of you are of any importance to actually go after."

Naruto saw the desperation in the man's eyes. He took pity. "Kakashi, perhaps the fact that we are ninja showed that Tazuna has money. You need money to hire ninja. That and even ninja get decent wages just for D-ranks. Killing all of us would be a good take for any bandits. These ones simply bit off more than they could chew and acted arrogantly. There is no reason to blame Tazuna for their stupidity."

Tazuna visibly relaxed. "Yes, that must be it."

"Of course Naruto. That must be it," Kakashi said with another eye-smile. _'So, you're taking pity on him? I hope you know what you're doing Naruto. Any mistake could get us killed. These were missing-nin. Not to mention that they were last seen with Zabuza. I have a bad feeling.'_ "Alright, well, I'll send a messenger bird to tell Konoha that these two are here. Let's keep moving."

When they were gone a dark figure immured from the forest. The figure wore a dark, black, and tattered cloak that covered the figure's features, keeping anything about him from being seen. The figure walked up to the two tied up missing-nin. After crouching down in front of them the figure took off their masks to reveal scared faces. A gloved hand emerged from his right sleeve and reached into a hidden pocket. When his hand came back out it held a small vial filled with a greyish liquid and a stopper on it. After removing the stopper he waved the vial in front of their noses. No reaction. After stoppering the vial and putting it back away the figure spoke.

"Wake up!" His voice was slightly deeper than usual. It was calm yet carried an air of commanded authority. It had a quality that was not soft but fluid, yet he spoke like a man who had conquered places before and was not afraid to do it again. However, there was still no reaction. He let out a sigh, grabbed Meizu by the collar of his shirt with his right hand, and his left emerged before the palm positioned just in front of his face. In quick succession slapped him back and forth across the face. It didn't take long before the man was awake.

"What the-?! What's going on?!"

"One moment." The figure said before doing the same to Gozu.

Once he was awake he had a similar reaction to his brother. Once they were awake the figure moved their masks back over their faces.

"Who are you?" Gozu asked.

"That depends on you."

"What do you mean?" This time from Meizu.

"First off, only one of you will talk. Choose now."

The two brothers shared a look before Gozu spoke up. "I'll speak for us."

"Good. Now, depending on how you respond to the things I say I will either be the man who leaves you here to be taken by Konoha recovery ninja, or I will be your new employer."

"Why?"

"Because, you have been able to alive for this long with just you two, and Zabuza. I respect the fact that this means you are not weak. I have other reasons, but for now, all you need to know is that I would like you to join me."

"And if we refuse?"

"I leave you here, tied to a tree."

Once again the brothers shared a look. "Will we learn more about what you need us for once we join you?"

"Of course. And as payment for loyalty, I will help you do what got you branded missing-nin. I'll help you finish the war in Kiri. I want it to end as well. Having you on my side fits my interests."

"When can we expect your help in that matter?"

The war won't end any time soon without my intervention. I promise that my intervention will end it a great deal sooner."

"How do we know you don't mean to help the Mizukage?"

"Because his mind is currently not his own, and the man who controls him is a man I want dead."

They could hear his voice take on an undertone that promised death to those who crossed him.

Once again they shared a look. This time, however, they took longer and could be heard whispering to each other. However, it did not take long before they both looked at the figure.

"We accept our new employment."

The figure pulled out a small blade and positioned it to cut their bindings.

"Are you sure? I will not tolerate cowards or traitors." He spoke ominously.

The two brothers quickly nodded before the figure cut the ropes. He smiled.

"Good."


	5. Chapter 05

_**Naruto**_ was currently sitting in a clearing near Tazuna's home. During the fight with Zabuza, Naruto had allowed Sasuke to take point and they worked together to free Kakashi. Once he was out of the water prison he proceeded to fight Zabuza before incapacitating him against a tree. That was when the false hunter-nin showed up and took him. After he woke up Kakashi revealed how the hunter-nin had to be fake because of him taking the body instead of destroying it. Now that Kakashi could not travel it was not difficult to convince the group that all that was left was to finish the job even though it was now an A-rank. This was also because the others took pity once the situation in Wave was explained. When Kakashi could walk with crutches he took them out to train in tree walking so they could stand a better chance by proceeding in their advancement. After a day of this, Sasuke and Naruto hade only made it halfway up the tree but Naruto had stayed behind while the others went back to eat supper.

Now with Naruto sitting in this clearing that was only lit by the dim light provided by the moon on a night without clouds, Naruto starts to truly train. It didn't take long for the clearing to be full of Naruto's clones. "Alright, pick a tree and start climbing. We are short on time and I want this done as quickly as possible." The original spoke before the clones all took off. While the clones were training for him he pulled a scroll from his pocket and unsealed it to find a small stack of scrolls containing Jutsu. Naruto already knew which one he was grabbing as he took one from the stack and opened it. Naruto had two Jutsu on his list that was mandatory to learn. One was the Shunshin. The other was not really a Jutsu so much as a technique left behind by his ancestors. From what little information there was about the technique before how to actually use it, not many had ever actually been confirmed to use this ability. In all reality, it was like a Kekkei Genkai that was usually never unlocked. While it had emerged in some few ever actually used it or even had the ability to. However, for some reason, any of the Uzumaki clan who was the container of the Kyuubi had been able to use it. Some believed it was because of their necessity should the beast ever escape.

However, for the time being, he put that one to the side believing that for now he shouldn't use it and therefore learning was only a distraction he didn't need right now. He opened his scroll for the shunshin and started practicing. It was not a difficult Jutsu to learn. Mastering it was another matter altogether. It put a strain on the body that could only come from moving at such speeds for too long. However, due to his vast chakra reserves, learning it took time, but while mastering it would take time, he could use it adequately for the time being. It wasn't until he could use it though that he realized he heard someone calling his name. Looking around he realized that he had been doing this all night and most of the morning. Not wanting to be caught he dispersed all of the clones still active. _'Crap that hurts. I'm going to need to learn how to moderate my brain's intake of the memories all at once.'_ He thought to himself as the rest of his team came into the clearing.

"Hm...Have you been training all night Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes. We are limited on time. I can rest when it gets closer to the time Zabuza will come back. But for now, I need to get as much done as I can."

"Well, that definitely seems important, but did your night of no sleep yield results?"

"Of course," Naruto responded before walking up to a tree and proceeding up it as if he was simply taking a morning walk.

"Well, that didn't take long. Sasuke you should get it by the end of the day. Naruto, are you familiar with the water walking technique? It would seem you and Sakura are ahead so I can teach it to you." Kakashi said. He needed to build them as fast as he could. Naruto was right, there was not a whole lot of time.

"I have heard of it. However, I must say no, I have other things to take care of," Naruto replied before taking off.

"Sensei what was Naruto talking about?" Sakura spoke up.

"I'm not too sure myself, but I'm sure he will be fine," Kakashi replied. In reality, he was worried. He knew next to nothing about this student Naruto but here he was with the boy under his command. He needed to talk to the third about this if they made it back.

* * *

 _ **It**_ had been a few days since Zabuza had escaped and Naruto was not resting. While the others were learning the water walking technique, he was sleeping in a small clearing. He had exhausted himself last night from experimenting with his clones and their abilities. While he had some of the continuing to practice with the shunshin, he was working on controlling how much he could alter the clones and what he could make them do. He discovered that so long as they didn't take much damage then they could even bleed. For a moment before he passed out he had been working on something else as well but could no longer maintain it before losing consciousness.

However, that was at the moment irrelevant as a hand was shaking him awake. When he opened his eyes he saw someone there that was androgynous in appearance.

"You could catch a cold if you stayed out here like this."

"Hm? Who are you?"

"I'll tell you that if you help me pick these herbs."

 _ **"Thank**_ you for helping out. My name is Haku."

"It was no problem, and my name Is Naruto."

"So what are you doing out here so early?"

"I'm training."

"I see, so are you a ninja?"

"Yes."

"So why are you training? You look strong already."

"Because I need to become stronger. I must train so that I can one day become respected by my village and gain the acknowledgment that has so long been denied me. I will make my village see who I truly am."

"Tell me, do you have someone important to you?" Naruto did not miss the look in her eye. "When someone has something to protect, that is when they become truly strong."

"I know what you mean. I do have people that I will one day fight beside. And if the need ever arises I will be there to protect them. My friends. Naruto sighed. "May I ask you a question?" Haku looked at him in confirmation. "I ask because I would like it if you don't over-react to what I am about to say." His response was a nod. "What you said about becoming strong through having something to protect...Is that why you helped Zabuza?" Naruto's response was Haku stiffening. He was trying to hear what Naruto said before taking action.

"How did you know?"

"My life has not been completely pleasant. Over the years my hearing becomes good enough for me to tell what board in my home had how much pressure. I recognized your voice."

He nodded. "So what do we do now?"

"I would like to talk."

"Why?"

"Another thing I developed over time is the ability to see certain things in people's eyes. When I mentioned acknowledgment your eyes displayed something similar to longing. When you talked about having something to protect, I saw you go over a memory. I saw the sadness in your eyes. Your past has not been kind to you either."

"Then what do you want to talk about exactly?"

"Well, first I would like to know what brought you to this point. What happened to you?"

His response was for Haku to hold is hand in front of him with the palm upwards. In his hand formed a small shard of ice. "My Kekkei Genkai brought me to this point," Haku said before telling about the bloodline purge, how he killed his father after he watched the death of his mother, and how Zabuza eventually found him. He told of how Zabuza had taken care of him since he found him.

"So, that is what that look of longing in your eyes was."

"What do you mean?"

"You say that you are nothing more than Zabuza's tool. But that look of.... Admiration, caring.....I would almost say you see him more as a father. That longing was the longing for a returned emotion. You wish that Zabuza saw you like family the way you see him."

"No, that's not-" he tried to protest.

"You already gave yourself away. You might not have even realized it before, but I can see it."

"How can you know what you're talking about?"

"Because I have seen much the same look in my own eyes many times before. That look of longing for someone to actually care for you," His face hardened.

"So, what do you intend to do now that you know my story?"

"How would you like to hear mine?"

"Why would you do that?"

"Why would you not kill me when I was asleep? You knew I would be your enemy but you didn't."

"I did it because I have not yet gotten rid of my humanity."

"I will tell you my story because I have not yet gotten rid of mine. There will be some parts I can't tell you seeing as it would bring me no end of trouble if I told you, but I can tell you some of it."

It took time but Naruto explained his story. How he had been attacked, how people had always hated him, how he had eventually found friends he could trust, and even how he had come to learn about his family and why he was hated. What he left out was the part about who his parents were, the Kyuubi, and the fact that the grandfather figure he got the information from was the Hokage.

"Now, what will you do now that you know my story?"

"I don't know."

Perhaps you should take my words to heart. You and I are a lot alike. We simply turned out differently due to different circumstances. So, I would like it if you gave me the chance to get Zabuza to stop this madness."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that if he continues down this path there is a strong chance that you two will die. That, and I believe that any time but now you and I could be friends."

Haku smiled. "You truly are different. An enemy stands here and you are trying to make friends out of them. I will try to give you a chance."

"Thank you. And besides, every friend I have is one less person against me. It is also one more person for me to stand beside." Naruto said as he stood up. "By the way, could you tell me how much time I have?"

"Why?"

"I won't tell anyone, I just want to know how long I have to figure out what I'm doing to do. Besides, I also want to make Zabuza my friend."

"Why would you want to do that?"

"Because he is not a bad person. He tried to end a massacre in Mizu no Kuni. I'm interested in the person that would give up his home to try and end something they thought was wrong."

"I am taking a gamble on you Naruto. I hope I can trust you. We will be making our move in two days. Do you honestly think you can help us?"

"Of course. Now, it's time for me to go. I have one last thing to do and not a whole lot of time."

Haku nodded as Naruto disappeared. Things were going to get much more interesting in two days.

* * *

 _ **That**_ night the team and family were sitting down at the table eating. Tazuna was asking about how they were going to handle Zabuza when someone spoke up.

"You're all fools. There is no way you can win." Inari said. Their first night there Tazuna had told them about Kaiza.

"What did you say?" Sakura asked.

"I said that you are all fools. There is no way you can beat Gato. You're all going to die."

"Shut up kid," Naruto said. "Of course we will. I have a few things I need to do before I die."

"Shut up, you don't know anything. He's going to kill you just like he did the last hero."

"HAHAHA!" Naruto shouted. "I can see exactly what you're thinking. It's written all over your face. You think that heroes are meaningless if they die. But in all reality, it is sometimes the ones that die who mattered the most. You know, our village once was attacked by a monster. Our fourth Hokage managed to defeat it and is still called a hero to this day. The only problem is that he died that day. If you think a hero that dies was worthless then you are an idiot. He won because he knew, understood and accepted one crucial and irrefutable fact. He accepted that he was going to die and still fought because of this fact. This fact is that someone who can't sacrifice anything can never change anything."

"What would you know, he actually succeeded. The last hero failed and left us alone!"

"That's not true," Naruto said shocking Inari. "His death caused you to say these words that have inspired me. He did not fail. He succeeded in passing on the torch to you Inari. Now I know for a fact that I will stop Zabuza, and" Naruto said his voice suddenly darker. "I will kill Gato." To say everyone was shocked by his words was an understatement. Before they could respond he left.

* * *

 _ **The**_ day that Zabuza was supposed to return Naruto had two clones stay at the house just in case. Granted, no one knew about them. However, currently, Naruto and Sasuke were trapped inside a dome of ice mirrors. When they had first been trapped in there Naruto had given a small signal used to ask for confirmation. His response was a small, barely noticeable nod.

Haku proceeded to start the fight by flashing from mirror to mirror throwing senbon at them. While the fight was meant to not overly harm Naruto, he was not going easy. In order to keep up appearances, Naruto kept trying to help Sasuke escape from the dome by creating as many clones as he could at one time I the small space, and having them run to the edge of the barrier, or guard Sasuke. However, in order to help keep Sasuke out of the way Haku used his senbon to knock him out for now.

"Don't worry, I only incapacitated him to keep him out of our way," Haku responded to Naruto's questioning look.

"Alright, now if I'm not mistaken here soon Kakashi will try to end it. That is when we shall intervene."

"And how shall you convince Zabuza that being your friend will be beneficial to him?"

Before he could answer Naruto closed his eyes in contemplation. "One of my clones just dispelled. I was going to use emotion to get through to him and still might. But I managed to get some valuable information. I'll tell you when it comes up."

"Alright, I'll continue to trust you."

"Thank- Time's up. Cancel this Jutsu. Our time to intervene is here." Haku nodded and canceled the ice mirrors.

When their vision cleared Kakashi was about to plunge his legendary Raikiri into Zabuza's chest.

"Zabuza!" Haku panicked and Shunshined in front of Zabuza to shield him. Kakashi was instantly filled with remorse at what he was about to do. However, it was too late to stop. But then he started to panic at what happened next. Naruto had also panicked and Shunshined in front of Haku to stop Kakashi. Kakashi was panicking. He was about to kill his student. He couldn't stop. Kakashi was shocked at what happened next to say the least. Naruto reached up and took it as the Raikiri went into his hand and tore into his arm before Kakashi stopped moving.

Naruto started grinning. "What...do you know....it worked. Crap this hurts, but it worked." Naruto got out before he moved and pulled away his now useless arm. He started to chuckle. "Haku, you really forced my hand there, I won't lie. But I cannot believe that actually worked. Well, what amazes me, even more, is that I'm still here. I guess that it worked." He ground out before dispelling in a cloud of smoke. It took all of a second before they heard someone start to scream in pain.

When they all looked towards where Haku and Naruto had come from they saw Naruto kneeling on the ground gripping his arm like it would disappear when he loosened his grip. "Biggest downside to shadow clones," He growled as he forced himself to stand. "Is that any trauma they experience returns to the user with their memories. This does not include the physical damage but it still hurts." He grimaced now that he was standing. The pain was starting to fade. He was used to some physical pain and it tended to disperse relatively quickly for him. Those idiots back in the village were useful for something.

"Hey, Zabuza. I need to talk to you when this is all over, but first... release your hidden mist technique and you will find what I'm about to tell you to be the truth. Gato is here. He never intended on paying you. As a matter of fact, he is actually here to kill you."

"What?! How would you know that?!" Zabuza yelled?

"I had two clones stay back at Tazuna's. Gato sent two thugs to take them hostage. When my clones questioned them one dispersed. I got the information telling me that Gato is on his way here right now. So I think it is safe to say that you don't need to kill Tazuna anymore. However, when this is all over I would like to talk to you. Do you understand?"

"Fine, I owe you that much. Since I'm not wounded I still have the energy to kill the midget."

"Sorry Zabuza, that will be my privilege, I already made a promise on that."

"Whatever, how about we just leave it to the one who gets him first."

"Deal."

Kakashi finally decided to get in on the conversation. "Naruto what is going on?"

"I will explain all the details later Kakashi, but for now Zabuza is not our enemy." Kakashi nodded.

"Hey," Zabuza said. "You will be filling me in on those details too. You can do it during this talk." Zabuza continued while releasing his technique. While he was doing that Sakura was trying to figure out what the hell was going on while keeping the bridge builder out of the way. Kakashi decided to do what he had done since this mission started, just go with it and ask the Sandaime later, before getting into his battle position. Zabuza decided to do something similar to what Kakashi had done. Finally, while Naruto was walking up to join them Haku looked at him giving a nod and also getting into position.

When the mist cleared it was still semi-misty due to the natural mist. However, the group was still able to see Gato and a small army of thugs. Gato was in disbelief when the mist cleared to show that they were ready for him instead of killing each other.

"Zabuza, what are you doing? You're supposed to be taking care of them."

"From what I know those thugs behind you are for me. You never intended to pay me."

Gato smirked. "Correct. You cost too much. I paid all of the to total the amount you were demanding. And I'll get the same results. Kill them."

Within a second of those words leaving Gato's mouth, Naruto was upon them with Zabuza, Haku, and Kakashi following suit. Naruto quickly drew his kunai and aimed for their legs and arms. He killed Mizuki but he was not ready to just start killing anyone in his way. He quickly dodged a sword that was coming down towards his head and cut the man's forearm before knocking him out.

While Naruto was doing this Kakashi and Zabuza were not holding back as they quickly ripped apart the thugs without mercy, and Haku paralyzed them with his senbon. However, it was Naruto who in the midst of the fighting got to Gato first. The man started to panic as Naruto approached him, and took the small blade out of his cane. Naruto made short work of disarming the man. Gato decided to play his trump card. Money.

"Wait! Wait, I can give you money, anything you want just let me go!"

"Not today. I already promised that I would kill you. I'll make this quick." Gato tied to crawl away but before he could Naruto grabbed his head. It took all of two seconds as Naruto grimaced from the snap of Gato's neck. He had only done it twice but this was the worst part he could imagine about life. The fact that he would have to kill in the future. The thought almost made him throw up.

It didn't take long before the others incapacitated or killed the rest of the thugs, but once they did they quickly noticed Naruto leaning over Gato's body. When they got closer to him he spoke up. "Alright, Kakashi and Zabuza, I will explain everything after I wake up. My arm is killing me." He got out before collapsing.

* * *

 _ **When**_ Naruto woke up he found himself in an unfamiliar room with Kakashi sitting next to him. "How long have I been out and where are we?"

"All day yesterday. It's morning. And Tazuna was happy Zabuza no longer wanted to kill him, but still wanted to keep his distance. So we are currently in Zabuza's Hotel room because Zabuza insisted, and I quote, 'I want answers about what the hell happened from the kid the moment he wakes up.'"

"Alright, let me sit up and I'll talk to them." Once he was sitting up he looked around and didn't see Zabuza. "Where are they?"

"Zabuza is raiding the free breakfast bar, and Haku is trying to keep the management from kicking him out overeating all of their food."

"Alright, understandable," Naruto said before the door burst open and Zabuza ran through it carrying a large stack of mini-muffins and eggs.

"Haku, quick close the door!" Zabuza yelled. "For a free breakfast buffet they get angry once you eat enough." Naruto and Kakashi sweatdropped at the trouble Zabuza had started.

"Alright, sit down Zabuza. I guess it's time I explain what happened." Naruto proceeded to explain how he had talked to Haku and they had planned to stop the fighting because he knew that one or both of the duo would die. It was at this point when Zabuza had explained that Haku had already talked with him about how he viewed Zabuza somewhat as a father figure. Zabuza went on to explain how he had told Haku he didn't know how to respond and had to think.

"So now what?" Zabuza asked. "We aren't trying to kill each other. Are we friends? Do we want to go back to the bridge and finish our fight?"

"That is a great question. Naruto?" Kakashi asked. He was looking at Naruto trying to once again do what he had done all mission, defer to Naruto's judgment on what he didn't feel like getting a migraine over.

"Well, my main goal with all of this was to get another few friends out of this. We have no more reason to fight." They all shared a look. They had their answer. "Well, from what I can tell, you left Mizu no Kuni because of the purge, correct?"

"Yes. I tried to kill the Mizukage to stop what he was doing."

"Well, for now, I suggest you lay low here for now. Most everyone who knew you were here is dead or we can ask them to keep quiet. I already have some thoughts I can discuss with you later."

"What do you mean?" Naruto looked at Kakashi.

"First, Kakashi, what happened to Sasuke and Sakura while I was out?"

"They are staying at Tazuna's. Sasuke is still unconscious. He should wake up soon though."

"Would you do me a favor and go check on them for me. Ask them not to talk to anyone about Zabuza." Kakashi already knew what was going on. He was not supposed to be a part of this conversation.

"Sure," Kakashi responded before leaving.

"Alright," Zabuza said, "What's this all about?"

"The answer is simple. Give me some time and I can help you out with finishing the war is Mizu."

"How would you do that?"

"You can't get close to where you need to be without some help. Give me some time, and I should be able to give you that help."

"How long are you asking us to wait?"

"I don't know yet. Stay here, help these people recover, get them to accept you. I do promise that I will help you. However, I'm not sure when yet. I'm sure that it will take at least another year before I can do that."

"A year? You want us to wait that long?"

"Look at me. I couldn't even stay standing after yesterday. Give me time. I'm sure that at this point I'm one of the few people who you can trust. Just give me the time to do it. Trust me and you will eventually see the results yourself."

Zabuza let out a growl. "Fine, but don't expect me to just sit still."

"I don't, but don't draw attention to yourself."

"Kid, I have to ask, how do you know that you can help us? What are you hiding?"

"That will be revealed in time. But for now, I can't tell you that."

"Fine. But I will find out one day."

* * *

 ** _It_** had been a few months since their grand exit from Wave and things for Naruto were advancing quickly. He had gone on several missions and due to them interchanging teams a few times to help with teamwork when they had to make do with who was available Naruto had even gone on a few missions with Hinata, Shino, and Anko. Over the past few months Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke had gotten closer together. This was mainly because on one mission, in particular, they had shared a near-death experience and bonded over it.

Over time Naruto had gotten stronger. He had learned the family legacy he had with him in wave and had even gone so far as to learn a few spare Jutsu. He had convinced Kakashi to teach him the double suicide decapitation Jutsu and had been able to learn some other Jutsu that were not particularly special. Granted, he did keep most of his learning secret so as not to draw attention to himself. While he knew that using it would bring no end of trouble he had started to learn his father's Hiraishin because he knew that two clones working on the technique would take a long time to figure it out and therefore didn't worry about it too much.

Another thing he had done was that he had started to train in the Kenjutsu scrolls in his family's library. He had found his mother's blade sealed in a scroll. The blade of the katana itself was green with a black line up both sides just above where the actual edge started. The guard was a black Japanese dragon wrapped around itself with small emeralds in the eyes. The pommel was a small gold plating that held another emerald at the tip. Finally the handle of the sword was a contradiction to everything else the blade had been, as it was a deep crimson with the white outline of another dragon curled around the handle. The blade was beautiful and was matched by the diagrams, katas, and practicing instructions Naruto found as they depicted the fluid movements of those who wielded and had mastered the art of Kenjutsu. As things currently stood, Naruto's work and skills with the blade had grown to be good but far from great and even further from perfect.

He had also started looking at some of the information from the scroll of seals and realized he had made a good choice in taking its contents. Mizuki most likely was not the first to try and steal it, nor would he be the last. At least it was not as dangerous as it was before. It was amazing, the things he found. In the list of things from the Nidaime, there were even notes on his Edo Tensei. It was quite obvious why the scroll was forbidden.

But for Naruto things were moving quickly enough for him. His sensei had told them that he had registered them for the Chunin exams. Now all they had to do was sign the forms he gave them. Yes, things were moving along nicely. He was currently on his way to a dango shop to meet with his friends when he heard someone yelling. Once he got closer he realized that Konohamaru was being held in the air by a boy by the name of Kankuro. Naruto had met Konohamaru before. He had talked some sense into the boy about what it was to truly be seen as himself and not as his grandfather.

He also saw Sakura standing there trying to get Kankuro to let Konohamaru go, but with no success. When Naruto walked up he instantly made the effort to scare said sand ninja.

"Wow, I have never met someone who wanted to start a war before."

"What do you mean?" Kankuro's sister Temari asked.

"Well, that is the Hokage's grandson you have there," Naruto said with a smirk. The two sand ninja were now nervous, to say the least.

"Well, let's not jump to conclusions," Kankuro said. He was sweating profusely all of a sudden as he put the boy down. Said boy quickly hid behind Naruto who started to chuckle.

"Calm down. I doubt it will start a war so long as no one makes a big deal about it. And I won't make a big deal about it." Naruto said, trying to ease the tension. However, the tension came back in full force when a redhead jumped out of a nearby tree.

"G-Gaara, how long have you been here?"

"Kankuro, Temari. You two are a disgrace to the village." Gaara said not giving them a chance to respond before he turned to Naruto. "Who are you?"

"I could ask the same."

"My name is Gaara and these are my siblings Kankuro and Temari. We are from the hidden sand and are here from the Chunin exams."

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, I live here in Konoha and will also be participating in the Chunin exams." Naruto responded.

Gaara gave a small nod. "Perhaps I will see you there." He said before turning and leaving with his siblings.

' _The way they looked at him. Their own brother. There was fear there. Fear and sadness. I have to wonder.'_ Naruto thought to himself before saying goodbye to Sakura and Konohamaru and leaving.

He was headed back home. Some things needed to be prepared.

* * *

 _ **The**_ Hokage at that moment was also headed to Naruto's home. He needed to talk to the boy. When he got there though, Naruto wasn't there. The Sandaime thought he might be somewhere and decided to look for him. The last place the Hokage got to was the office. To say that the old man was surprised would have been an understatement. While there were papers everywhere they were organized. However, on the desk there were four folders. Each one had something different on the cover. **Spring Contingency** , **Summer Contingency** , **Autumn Contingency** , and **Winter Contingency.**

' _Contingency? What would he be needing to plan for that he needs a contingency?'_ The Third asked while picking up the folder labeled autumn. When he flipped through it though some of what he saw shocked him. _'Why would he need this?'_ He thought as he put it down and picked up the winter folder. His reaction was similar. Many of the pages were blank. This particular contingency was incomplete. But when he got to the final page there was only one sentence that truly terrified the Hokage. He couldn't react before he heard the door close behind him. As he spun around he dropped the folder and saw Naruto standing between him and the door.

"I see you found my plans and decided to take a look at them," Naruto said with no emotion in his voice. "I bet you are wondering what could lead a man to need so many plans. Look around you. All of these are different plans or contingencies. Plans in case other plans go wrong. Plans in case one event happen instead of another. I bet you even wonder why I created the Winter Contingency."

The leader hardened his face. "Why would you need to plan some of those things? I demand you answer me now!"

"You have no right," Naruto said, his hatred and anger pouring into his voice as he radiated killing intent. "Do you know what a contingency is? It is a provision for an unforeseen event that can't be predicted with certainty. Would you like to know why that last one is there? It was on the front page." Naruto said with a smirk as Hiruzen picked the folder back up and looked at the word betrayal on the first page. "That is why. If I am ever betrayed the Winter Contingency is one of the possible outcomes. Even that particular contingency is not guaranteed. It might never truly be put into action. It is simply there because of the small chance that the correct events fall into place, but who knows."

"What you are saying? Naruto do you realize-"

"What I'm talking about? Of course. But like I said, it is not yet set in stone. I only plan for the possibility. All great generals have planned for possibilities. Besides, if that one ever gets put into effect it will be your own fault."

"What led you to even need this plan?"

"You did. You deceived me when I thought you were the only person I could trust. My trust is spread thin as it is. But my hopes are that it is no longer misplaced. Now, I need to sleep so I ask that you leave." The Hokage knew he couldn't argue. He started walking out the door as Naruto opened it for him.

Once the Hokage was gone from his home Naruto returned to his office. To his desk. To his contingencies. He flipped to the last page of the winter contingency and looked at the only sentence. In a way, it was just that. Konoha's sentence. Naruto looked at the final sentence with the happiness of a mad man. A part of him wanted nothing more than to act out the contents of this contingency. He read over the one line over and over again. Quickly he stopped, remembering the other part of his mind and composed himself.

"One day, I will be here on that day. I will be here on that day. The day when they decide what plan I will use. Because it will be their actions that determine it. They will decide." Naruto said to himself as he closed the folder and turned to leave. He needed to be ready. For everything. He could feel it. Things were about to change. He could feel it in his very core.

* * *

 _ **Before**_ the exams had started Naruto had gone to his home and packed a scroll just in case. The scroll contained his weapons including his sword as well as other items that would be needed for varying situations. Naruto had learned some time ago how to seal many things in one seal but pull out certain things at one time. He did all this because he had heard of some of the previous exams and wanted to be prepared.

When they got to the second floor on their way to the test Naruto and his team keep moving. However, as he left he shouted that it was the second floor and that it was nothing more than a trick. Once they got to the correct floor Naruto had them enter at once. Once they were in it didn't take long for them to be noticed.

While the others talked to different people Naruto was talking to Hinata and Shino about something they believed was more important. "Alright, if we have to fight each other later what should we do?"

Shino was the first to speak up in response. "Well, from what I have learned about previous tests there will be a segment where the different teams will need to go against each other and another segment where we will need to go head to head. In the team segment we should work together. It shouldn't be hard to _'convince'_ Kiba to go along with this plan, but getting your team to go along with it will be harder."

"No it won't. All we need to do is convince Sasuke and Sakura will follow suit. My team and I may have grown closer but I have yet to be able to truly change how they see things. All we need to do is make Sasuke believe that this will help him get stronger and the rest should take care of itself." His friends nodded. Now it was time to think about what to do if it came down to fighting each other.

"I think we should just fight but leave out k-killing moves. Fight but stop when we know one of us has won." Hinata said, to which the others nodded. Naruto noticed something going on with the others as a Sound genin had attacked another Konoha genin by the name of Kabuto. However, Naruto decided to ignore it as the first proctor had shown up to start the exam. Things were about to get interesting.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ had gotten through the first part of the exam without much hassle. He had a clone he made before the exam henge into a fly and copy the answers from an obvious plant. This was another trick. He had a little trouble getting Sakura to stay for the final question but his speech had made inspiring people easy.

Once Anko burst through the window Naruto had to face-palm at her antics. But this is where things got important. The forest of death was the next part of the exam and the goal was to get the opposite scroll before heading to the tower in the middle of the forest. Naruto had been in here plenty of times and knew that having the genin sign wavers was no joke. Things were getting serious.

Once inside he had his team meet up with Hinata and Shino's team. Sasuke's first reaction to seeing them was to get ready for a fight as was Kiba's. However, with Naruto, Hinata, and Shino they never got a chance. They quickly managed to convince Sasuke with the fact that this would get things done and advance him faster. Kiba was convinced when Shino threatened that they would leave him behind with his bugs if he didn't agree. Needless to say he didn't argue long.

While their teams had different scrolls they were able to quickly see the benefit of working together after witnessing Gaara kill a group of Amegakure genin. This was too important to spend time fighting each other. Things were progressing nicely one both teams had their scrolls and they started heading towards the tower. However, once it hit the night they decided to stop and sleep inside of a hollowed portion in a tree. They were all to keep watch at different intervals with Naruto taking the first watch.

About half an hour into his watch and Sasuke came out and sat next to Naruto.

"My watch still has another hour-and-a-half. Can't sleep?"

Sasuke nodded. "I wanted to talk to you."

"What about?"

"When we first go put on the same team you helped me open my eyes to the fact that I was just acting better than some people when in all reality my pain is not unique. In this world people have those they care for taken from them every day. It is not exactly once in a lifetime, but the pain of never having anything is never something I could experience. But your life still has room to lose everything. You could know my pain one day, but I could never know yours."

"That's what I said before. Is there something in particular you wanted to talk about?"

"I wanted to ask you why you tried to get to know me that day. You said that it was because we were on the same team but you never tried to do the same with Sakura."

"The answer is really quite simple. I had a promise to fulfill."

"What do you mean?"

He let out a sigh. "I also once knew Itachi."

"What did you say?!"

"You heard me. You see, Itachi was once my friend. Back when everyone hated me he was one of the few I trusted. I never imagined he would have committed the Uchiha massacre. You see, that night, just before he left, he came to me and told me good-bye. He also asked me to make sure that I helped you stay on the right path. I don't know what happened that night, but he truly wanted me to help keep you out of the darkness."

"All this time... Why? Why would he do that? Why did he ask you to do that?"

"My guess," Naruto said as he stood up, "is that no matter what happened that night, he truly cared for you. Well. Since you're here and want to think I'll let you take over my watch for the time being." Naruto said before taking off into the forest.

' _He left me behind to do his job. Son of a.....'_

With Naruto things were going by him at a massive speed. He was currently just trying to think about what he had said. While he believed he had done the right thing to keep Sasuke out of darkness, he felt like he might have messed up something, like he had changed something that had been planned out for quite some time. However, he was brought out of his musings when he heard someone scream. When he found the source he saw a red-headed girl being attacked by a massive bear.

Naruto quickly created several clones and had them do the very simple task of acting like food and luring the bear away from them. With the bear gone Naruto quickly refocused on Karin. Naruto offered his hand to help her up and she didn't take long to accept the help.

'Thank you. I got separated from my team and then that bear attacked me."

"No problem. To be completely honest I was just trying to take a walk and think. By the way, what is your name?"

"My name is Karin."

"Well, if you don't mind me asking, what is your last name?"

"My last name is more of just a clan name so I don't really go by it, but it's Uzumaki."

"Well then Karin," Naruto said getting rid of his surprise and gaining a smile, "I think our clan might truly be rising once again."

"W-what do you mean by that?" She asked. She was surprised at his answer.

"Well my name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I intend on one day going back to our home."

"T-That's not possible. All the Uzumaki were wiped out!"

"If that were so, then how are you here? I wonder who told you that. There were survivors, but they were scattered across the world after Uzushiogakure's destruction."

'Wait, I was also told that members of the Uzumaki clan have red hair."

"Yes, that is true. However, basic biology will tell you that my hair is from my father. My mother was, in fact, an Uzumaki who came to Konoha shortly before the Land of Whirling Tides was destroyed."

Karin nodded. It made sense, and it was completely possible. But then she asked a question. "So now that we know we are from the same clan, what do we do now?"

"Well, I would say that you should make your way to the tower. You can't find your team and I wouldn't say you're going to survive too long on your own out here. You won't pass the exam but you should go ahead and make your way there. I'll keep you company."

"But what about your own team?"

"Don't worry," Naruto said as he created a clone to make sure she got there. "Just wait. Eventually, I'll figure out what to do." Naruto said before waving good-bye and taking off. He had found a member of his clan. He was going to one day try to find some of them but he never expected to have one just show up like this so early on. Who knows, maybe his ancestral home wasn't as far from rebuilding as he thought.

* * *

 _ **To**_ say that Naruto was not happy about today's turn of events would be an understatement. He was downright pissed. First Orochimaru had shown up and distracted Naruto with one of his snake summons that he quickly dealt with while using several hundred clones. Once he was done with that he quickly ran back to join his friends. Once he got there it didn't take long for him to be knocked out after Orochimaru commented on how he was little more than a pest. As a last-ditch effort, Naruto had tried to use his sword. However, when Orochimaru used his own he was able to outmaneuver Naruto and land the hit that knocked him out. When he woke up he found that Sasuke had forced the Sound team to retreat after having woken up with strange tattoos all over his body. To make matters worse, once he was done Sasuke had once again become unconscious. Now Naruto was carrying him as they were heading to the tower.

"Will someone explain to me again why I'm carrying him?!"

"You only just woke up from a nap. Stop complaining." Sakura responded. I was as she said this that the tower finally came into view.

' _Finally, now I can find out some information about Orochimaru and what he did to Sasuke. Time to call in another guilt trip from the Hokage. I can't keep doing it forever, but for the time being, he can't keep any important details away from me.'_ Naruto thought to himself.


	6. Chapter 06

_**Naruto**_ was currently standing in front of the Third Hokage himself. Once they had made it into the tower they had confirmed that they were done and had gotten Sasuke to the medics so as to make sure that he was fine. No one could do anything about the seal on Sasuke's neck as it was too complex and integrated. While everyone was taking time off at the tower and waiting for everyone else to finish, Naruto had made a clone to hold his place while he went to talk to the Hokage.

As he stood there the Sandaime was getting increasingly nervous about Naruto's presence in his office. Lately, the two had kept their distance and only talked when something important was about to be made known. He wondered what was about to happen. It was bound to be an important discussion for Naruto to have come to his office. The moment Naruto walked in the Kage activated the privacy seal knowing that it was going to be important. Naruto was simply staring at him.

In his mind, Naruto was laughing. It was fun to let the Hokage sit there and squirm in his illustrious chair. Finally, Naruto decided to end it.

"There are two things I want to know about and you will answer my questions honestly. I can't afford to be lied to right now." Hiruzen nodded. "Good. The first is Orochimaru. That psychopath put a seal on Sasuke. What was it and why?"

The Sandaime's face grew grim. "That seal was something we know very little about. Even though Orochimaru was my student I failed to see what he was. As he continued to descend into madness and darkness he started experimenting on people. Very little is known about it but that seal is called the curse seal. It has a very low survivability rate. However, we don't know much other than that, and that it grants the user power but at the cost of Orochimaru being able to use it to influence them to a certain degree. "

"Hmm... Alright, the other thing I wanted to know about is Itachi."

"What about him?"

"What happened the night of the massacre?"

"We don't know much other than that he killed his entire clan before they could react and that he left his brother alive. From what Sasuke told us, Itachi wanted him to let his anger and hatred grow until he was strong enough to challenge him. It seems he wanted Sasuke to grow into a worthy opponent in his eyes."

"Then do tell me, why Itachi came to me that night making me promise that I would help Sasuke stay on the right path and get stronger?"

The old man was now gaping in shock. Naruto had never told him about this. "What do you mean? What happened?"

"I already told you what happened. Now you tell me why Itachi seemed to be acting. With me or with Sasuke he was acting. Though if he wanted Sasuke to grow in his hatred I doubt he would have come to me at all. I can see it in your eyes, you are hiding something. I already told you that I want the truth. It has been denied me for so long until recently."

The Hokage sighed, Naruto was beginning to be the source of a few headaches lately. "Naruto, I want you to understand that if what I am about to tell you ever leaves your mouth, even to your inner circle, then I will have no choice but to put you to death."

"That does sound important. I understand. Go on."

"I hope you know that I am telling you a secret that was supposed to stay buried."

"So was my secret. Now stop stalling."

He sighed. "The relations between the Uchiha and the rest of the village have never been great. They got even worse after the Kyuubi attacked. Many thought they saw the Sharingan in its eyes and the only person to have ever controlled that monster was Madara Uchiha. Eventually, Itachi came to me and told me about how the Uchiha were planning a coup d'etat. We knew that if they did this it would cause many more deaths than we caused by doing what we did."

"You had Itachi kill his clan so as to spare as many lives as possible. But let me guess, he wouldn't kill Sasuke."

"Couldn't sounds more accurate. He came to me pleading for his younger brother's life. However, I know that if Sasuke remained alive Itachi could never remain in the village. I told him the cost-"

"Would be to become a missing-nin. He quickly complied with the cast. Anything to protect the one he cared for more than the village." The Hokage nodded. "I find it amazing Hiruzen."

The Third flinched at the way he said the name. "What?"

"The fact that you personally created some of the worst enemies this village has ever faced. Itachi, Orochimaru, and depending on how things go it is quite possible that I and/or Sasuke could be enemies of this village."

"Naruto, list-"

"No, you listen to me old man. You said that the seal somehow influences people. You created Orochimaru, and in turn, he could change Sasuke into an enemy. If the seal influences people, what better thing for him to influence then Sasuke's hatred of his brother? This and many other things are your fault. I can only imagine what else has stemmed as a consequence of your actions. That fact is inescapable." 

Hiruzen knew it was true. But then he realized the time.

"Naruto, I need to ask that you excuse me for now. I have something very important to do."

"Of course." Naruto turned to leave. Just as he got to the door he stopped. "I know that I can't call on information from you forever, but I will be needing it a few more times before this is done," Naruto said before leaving. 

It wasn't like Hiruzen could exactly argue. However, it wasn't like Hiruzen wasn't trying to fix some of them. Especially those pertaining to Naruto. The only problem was that he was having trouble rectifying an important one right now and hoped that he was able to get it done soon before something happened that couldn't be undone.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ was currently sitting in a chair at his home. The clone was still standing his place back at the tower. He was currently making up a few plans and contingencies. His fight against Orochimaru showed him something. The Hokage didn't know that he wasn't using one of the greatest libraries to ever exist in order to get stronger. 

His threats would be empty if he couldn't get stronger. Orochimaru swatted him away like a fly without much trouble. And to think, in a one on one direct fight the Sandaime was above Orochimaru. He wanted to protect certain people, but how could he do that if he was too weak? He needed to grow stronger.

Now, how to do that without revealing himself too soon. Then an idea popped into his head. It was going to cause some migraines but it was worth it. He went outside and quickly created several hundred clones. "You all know what to do. Get to it. We have too many things to do and not enough time to do it. Organize your squads and do your jobs. I will be in my office planning for the things to come." Naruto said. 

The clones gave their salute of their right fist over their hearts and their left arm folded behind their lower back. He needed this plan to work. If his own suspicions were correct, and from what he knew about Orochimaru from everything he was able to dig up in such a short time, then his plan needed to work or people would die.

He needed these pieces. If he didn't have them....then things would go wrong. _'Things are escalating. And I'm up against someone who has already shown that as insane as he is, he is no idiot. Orochimaru was here for a reason, not just to give Sasuke his curse mark, but something more. If I'm right then things are reaching a climax. One of the many that are to come.'_

* * *

 _ **To**_ say that Naruto was becoming increasingly not happy about the way things were going would be a major understatement. He was quite toughly pissed. Orochimaru had fought with Anko, resulting in her using a kamikaze move to try and kill him. She was reckless and almost died. Her anger at Orochimaru blinded her. Then there were the preliminaries.

They had started relatively well, Shino had won his easily enough and Sasuke had also managed. However, he was disappointed at how weak Sakura was. She and Ino tied but the match was almost pathetic. It lasted longer than some of the others but Naruto was left underwhelmed.

It got better as Naruto almost broke his third neck. While Shino, Hinata, and he had grown stronger, Neji was still stronger than Hinata. When he went in for the killing blow Naruto saw it immediately and shunshined down before catching the boy by the neck. Neji's momentum let his feet keep moving just enough for them to come off the ground, and that suited Naruto just fine. 

Neji was taller but it didn't matter, his feet were dangling as he was held off the ground. Everyone was shocked. They never expected Naruto to get there before anyone else could react. Even Neji was scared. He had noticed the abrupt changes that Naruto had gone through in the past and knew that he was currently unpredictable. Naruto was an enigma to Neji.

But Naruto decided to get to the point and make things clear. He pulled Neji down and made sure he was leaning over enough before speaking in the older boy's ear. "If I ever think for a second that you are ever about to hurt Hinata again," Naruto spoke, his voice taking on a dark and sadistically happy undertone, "then I will crush your neck in my hand. How is that for fate deciding things for you? If you act, I am quite destined to react. Now, nod your head if you understand what I just said."

Neji nodded as best he could with the grip the younger shinobi had. "Good," Naruto responded before letting go of Neji and backing up a step. Everyone thought it was over until Naruto acted once again. 

He quickly spun around with his leg extending before sending the stunned Hyuga flying into the wall, leaving an imprint in the concrete.

The proctor was stunned. "S-Short break before we resume matches." He said trying to wrap his mind around what had just happened. Naruto kept walking though. He was tempted to kill Neji when he had the chance, but it would have only caused problems. Naruto's own match also went well. Kiba was not in top condition so it wasn't hard to get several clones to distract him and Akamaru before the real one employed the double suicide decapitation technique.

After the preliminaries were over they were given a month to train before the finals, and Naruto was going to make the most of it. While Naruto did have his clones working on his pet project he did intend on finding someone to help train him for the time being. It didn't take much time for him to rule out many on the list. Even Kakashi was gone. He had opted to help Sasuke.

' _Speaking of Kakashi, wasn't that his perverted giggle?'_ Naruto wondered as he heard something so familiar. When he found the source he saw someone he had read about. The perverted toad sage himself Jiraiya of the legendary Sannin. Naruto just found his temporary sensei.

"Hey, old man," Naruto said tapping on his shoulder.

Jiraiya looked at him. "What do you want, kid? Don't you see I'm busy doing research?"

"Ah, yes. The kind of research that might be ruined should anyone, I don't know say, me, decide to yell, I don't know, 'Look a pervert!' right here next to this conveniently placed women's hot spring that is visited often by kunoichi. I'm sure you would like to get back to it. Don't let my next few words disturb you." Naruto said before drawing in breath in an over-exaggerated fashion as if he was about to yell. Jiraiya panicked. Flailing his hands to stop him.

"Wait, there is no reason to do that. I'm sure we can come to some sort of arrangement. Let me ask that again, what do you want?"

"Well..." Naruto dragged out while holding a pose like he was deep in thought. "Oh, I know. I'm currently in the Chunin exams and need someone to help me train during the next month."

"What, you can't be serious?!"

"If you still want me to start telling people that the Ero-Sannin is back in Konoha then, by all means, I will be happy to oblige." 

Jiraiya scowled at the name but knew he was cornered. If he didn't go along with it then he would have to get some actual work done. He at least wanted to get some research out of the way first and throwing this kid a bone would guarantee that.

"Fine, I'll help you train. Now, what do you want me to help you train in?"

"That is simple. I would like you to help me train in my Kenjutsu, taijutsu, and chakra control."

"Well, we had better get right to that then."

* * *

 _ **To**_ put things simply, Naruto was currently falling off a cliff. A more precise way of putting it would be that he was pushed. Over the past couple of weeks, Jiraiya had been training in all the areas discussed. While working on his kenjutsu he had used a generic sword so Jiraiya wouldn't recognize the blade. 

His taijutsu had become on par with most high-level Chunin. When they started working on his chakra control Jiraiya had done three things. The first was that Jiraiya had Naruto sign the toad summoning contract. The second was that he had Naruto work on the water walking in order to be better prepared for what he was going to do next. 

And then it was time for Naruto to try working with the Kyuubi's chakra. In order to force Naruto to interact with the Kyuubi Jiraiya pushed Naruto off a cliff. 

Naruto entered his mindscape. It didn't take long for him to navigate what appeared to be a basement of an industrial plant, with pipes running along the ceiling and the floor, that was slightly flooded as the pipes leaked.

When Naruto came into a giant room the first thing he noticed was the giant cage in front of him. He approached it and saw what he was looking for. The Kyuubi. It had known he was there from the beginning so it was already looking at him when he entered.

" **Come closer."** It said as Naruto approached the cage but stopped when he noticed its claw move.

"You were going to try and stab me through the cage."

" **Very perceptive. I didn't think I would get you, but I thought it worth a try. You are much smarter than some give you credit for."**

"I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment or not."

" **I was commenting on your intelligence, take it as you wish. But you are here for a reason, aren't you."** It wasn't a question.

"I need to use your chakra for the time being. At least until I am strong enough to not need it."

" **HAHAHAHA! You certainty are direct. First, do tell me what you are currently thinking about the current situation of the village and those in it."**

"I trust almost none of them. But you already know hat. You already know just about everything I'm thinking about what's going on. I can sense that Orochimaru wasn't here just to give Sasuke that curse mark. It was too simple for a man like him. With Orochimaru, nothing is ever simple. And then Jiraiya is here. He has helped me these past few weeks but I can sense that he has ulterior motives. I just don't know what they are. I don't trust him, especially considering he was supposed to be here for me all this time but wasn't. However, right now I have more pressing matters to deal with."

" **AH, you mean your contingencies and plans. So what are you going to do?"**

"That depends on them. I would like to talk to you at a later time, and for now just want to get this done."

" **Of course. Take the chakra. Think of it as rent if you want. I must admit that this cage is much more comfortable than my previous seal. Not to mention that if you die I die."**

"Yes, I read my mother's notes about what her mindscape put you in," Naruto said as he left, feeling the power now at his disposal as he summoned the chief toad, causing Jiraiya to smirk. Things were moving along and not even Naruto could stop them now.

* * *

 _ **The**_ rest of his month-long break from the Chunin exams had left Naruto ready for anything. He was prepared to fight Neji and had prepared himself for anything else the day might bring. Naruto could feel something coming. And it was coming soon. For all the time during his training, the Kyuubi had yet to speak with him but for now, it was fine. He watched the rest of the matches without much interest, aside from the fact that Kankuro forfeited his match. Naruto didn't see him as the type of person to simply give the other person a victory. However, it was now time for his fight against Neji.

Neji was as overconfident as usual. Naruto may have taken him by surprise before, but he was already tired from fighting Hinata and was unprepared. Now it was just the two of them, and fate was on his side.

Meanwhile, Naruto could look at Neji and see his arrogance. He was still stuck on his obsession with fate. It was time to truly crush him under the weight of the truth that fate had nothing to do with anything. You carve your own path. Just before the fight was about to start the Hokage was getting a report.

"And you are sure that he has been here for the past month?"

"He has been here for at least that long." The ANBU in front of him replied. "He was training Uzumaki Naruto during the break period between the preliminaries and now."

"That stupid toad." The Hokage growled as he pounded his fist into his chair. "I told him it was urgent and he completely blew it off. No doubt Naruto used blackmail to get him to help with his training. Probably not telling everyone he was here. As soon as the finals are over I want him paralyzed while he is conducting his 'research' while someone makes his presence known. Keep him alive though. After that I want him tied up in an uncomfortable fashion and brought to my office. That is an order meant to be taken one hundred percent seriously." The ANBU nodded at their orders and disappeared.

Back to Naruto and Neji, the fight had started and they just stood there staring each other down.

"You know you will lose Uzumaki, it has already been decided by fate that I shall win."

"Can it, I don't believe that trash one bit and when I'm done you will see that it is nothing but garbage," Naruto yelled as he quickly rushed Neji.

Neji quickly knocked Naruto aside before seeing him burst into smoke. A shadow clone. When he looked around for the blonde he couldn't see him. Before he could react hands came up from the ground and grabbed his ankles. 

Before they could pull him underground he quickly broke the grip they had and backed away. It took him only a moment to activate his Byakugan and saw that Naruto was underground. However he didn't stay there long as climbed out through the cracked earth.

"Well, the Byakugan, now things are getting serious. I hope you have heard of my signature Justu, because if not this is going to confuse you." Naruto said before twenty clones popped into existence beside him. 

Neji wasn't panicking but he was taken by surprise at this turn. He couldn't tell where the real one was. They all had the same chakra. That just meant he needed to deal with all of them. This decision reached him just before he rushed in to take on the clones. He quickly dispelled all of them to see the last one standing in front him smirking. 

As Naruto started running to go for a punch, Neji started to spin around thus scraping Naruto's fist as he pulled back at the last second to avoid the defensive move, Kaiten, often described as the perfect defense. This was going to be fun.

Naruto shook his hand to ignore the scrapes and jumped away a few feet. "Do tell Neji, what drives your passion for fate?"

Neji looked at him for a moment before lifting his headband. He was showing the caged bird seal. "The fate of a branch family member is this mark. Fate is unavoidable. I was fated to be a branch member and this is where I am fated to be. These eyes of mine show me many things. One thing they've shown me... people's limitations are set, fixed, and unchangeable. Only a fool wastes his time trying to become something he can never be! The only destiny that everyone shares... is death. And this mark represents a mark of the bird in a cage... It is... the symbol of being tied down to an inescapable destiny." Neji responded.

He then began telling about how his father was forced to die in his uncle's place, and how that is the fate of a branch member, to serve and give their lives for the main family.

"I am sorry to hear that you believe fate determines everything, I am also sorry for the life you have had so far. However, this is as far as you go on that path."

"No, this is as far as you go, you are within my range," Neji said as he got into position. "Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"

All Naruto could do was stand there and take it as the Jutsu closed off his Tenketsu. When Neji was done Naruto was still standing there but was slightly hunched over. "You have lost Uzumaki."

"No, I have not. You once told Hinata that people are judged by their true nature. It is the way of the world. That is why we have the elite, and that is why we have the outcasts. We can change our physical appearance and improve our skills with training and study, but ultimately, we are judged by what we cannot change. What can't be changed must be endured. We are who we are, and we must live with it. And you know what? You were right about that, but not in the way you think. People are judged by who they are, but, in the end, we are who we are and it can't be changed. Everyone has burdens, things that define them, and these things can often never be changed. They must be lived with, but it is our ability to live with them, accept them, and know that it makes us strong enough to do what we believe in."

Naruto continued speaking, taking in a deep breath. "Who we are can be changed, and what we decide to do with who we are is what matters. It is not what others decide to do with who we are that matters, because if you truly believe that, then you have not accepted burdens you must live with, you have accepted shackles that bind you in such a way you can't even see that you hold the key. Do not accept your existence on fate. Screw fate, carve your own path!" Naruto yelled the last part as he felt chakra flowing through him. 

He had called upon the Kyuubi's chakra to re-open his pathways before forming several dozen clones. "It is my ability to take what was given to me and make it my own, that allowed me to get this far. It is because I didn't just accept my fate; I built myself to this point. Now, you have lost." Naruto said as his clones quickly went in and systematically disabled Neji and left him laying on the ground and on the edge of consciousness. 

"Your reliance on fate is what brought you here. Take your fate, and bend it to your will to create a path no one can ever get in the way of. Fate is a set of unchangeable events. The only fate one should take is that which has already happened because that can never be changed. However, destiny is an unchangeable future. And that is garbage. Everyone carves their own path with the fate of what has happened, to make a new future that is created by those who shape it, not by destiny." Naruto said as he walked away.

After the fight with Neji, Naruto's day proceeded to go downhill from there. Sasuke had kept everyone waiting and just when they were about to disqualify him he made an over-exaggerated entrance. To say things had gone wrong after that would be less than the reality of things. When Gaara saw his own blood he lost it and then things went right down the crapper. 

Orochimaru had started an invasion by activating a Genjutsu that made most of the crowd fall asleep. Many of them quickly escaped and started getting others out. Naruto was in it for less than half-a-second because Kyuubi had altered his chakra flow seeing as how his chakra was still there to do so for the moment. Naruto had decided to make himself useful and gathered Hinata, Shino, and Anko to follow Gaara. As they made their way out they were followed by Shikamaru and Kakashi. 

As they went on Kakashi and Anko split up to take on Temari and Kankuro. This left Naruto, Shino, and Hinata facing Gaara. The fight went badly with Gaara now pinning Shino and Hinata to trees in his partial Biju form, demanding that Naruto fight him.

"So, I was right. You are a Jinchuriki, just like me."

Gaara's face took on a slightly shocked appearance. "What do you mean, there is no way. These people try to protect you, fight by you and are your friends. How can you be like me?!"

"The answer to your question is that the circumstances and choices in our lives changed dramatically. Things went wrong for both of us. It is hard, especially considering that one of them is the Ichibi's, but I can see in your eyes the pain you have suffered. Beneath the hatred and indifference, you have suffered betrayal, loneliness beyond anything I could imagine, and raw hatred that over time simply consumed you." Naruto saw as Gaara started to experience everything that turned him into what he was. "I have been through different things, but I chose to keep trying no matter what they threw at me. You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you? But you chose to become what everyone thought of you, instead of creating your own path and staying in the light. So allow me now, to be your friend. Together we can change this world's view of us." Naruto said as he reached out his hand towards Gaara. 

Gaara was looking at him with shock and tears on his face.

' _How could one be given such a burden and keep walking down such a path?'_ Gaara was thinking. He started to reach his hand out to take Naruto's before he felt everything crash down on him. **"Blood! Give me Blood!"**

Gaara tried to fight it before he lost himself all at once and lost conciseness. It didn't take long as the Ichibi formed with Gaara lying on top of its head. Naruto had to react fast and quickly summoned the chief toad. As he stood on top of Gamabunta he looked at the Shukaku.

"I need you to get me close. From a short distance, I can jump on. After that, you can go back."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, now move."

It didn't take long for Gamabunta to get in close and then disappear once Naruto was on the Ichibi. The moment Naruto got close to Gaara he knew he needed to make the Ichibi hold still for him to concentrate. _'_

 _I guess it's time to do that.'_ Naruto thought as he used chakra to keep himself standing while forming a number of hand seals, and putting his arms out to the side and his palms away from him. Instantly chains started to emerge from all over his body and wrapped around the Shukaku, even going so far as to muzzle his mouth. 

With Ichibi holding still, Naruto quickly found Gaara's seal and put his hand on it before closing his eyes to concentrate. As Naruto moved the chains extended and retracted as if they simply became the length needed. 

It took several moments, and the seal was still weak, but with his added changes it was now stronger than before. Depending on how things go Gaara would now be able to sleep. This was all evident as the beast started to fade away and the sand fell away. 

Naruto decided to go ahead and take Gaara to his friends before waking him up. Once he had Shino and Hinata together he woke Gaara up.

"How-"

"I was able to re-write your seal so that it is at least stronger than before. You should even be able to sleep now, and the voice in your head should be easier to block." Gaara was shocked. He had gone through all this effort and still ended up helping him.

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble, I would like to accept that handshake now," Gaara said, obviously still weak from it all. Naruto reached out and they shook hands. _'So this is what it's like to have friends.'_ Gaara thought before his siblings showed up. They didn't look too good, but before anyone could say anything they got Gaara and took off.

* * *

 _ **It**_ had been a few days now since the Sandaime's funeral and Naruto was walking next to Jiraiya. He had almost choked one of the old fools in the council for a particularly rude comment about him when they were discussing the topic of the next Hokage. However, the fact remained that they were currently on a trip to find said chosen person. Tsunade Senju, granddaughter of the Shodaime and chosen Godaime. However, she was also missing due to her sadness and refusal to return to the village. They had been sent off to find her and bring her back.

They had been practicing and sparing along the way and Jiraiya had started to teach Naruto the Rasengan. Naruto had been training herder and was becoming better in his kenjutsu, Taijutsu, and chakra control as they went and he had even been able to move on to the second stage of the Rasengan. 

As dusk began to fall and they entered a village that Jiraiya claimed Tsunade had been sighted in, Naruto was thinking about several things. He was leaning more towards it was because this place had a bathhouse that was popular among women in the area, rather than a Tsunade sighting but decided not to care.

However, Naruto was forced to redact the thought, if only somewhat, when they managed to find Tsunade in a bar. As they approached her they could see she was tensing up, as if she knew they were there for a reason she wouldn't like. In all actuality, Naruto knew that was exactly what they were there for.

"Hello there Hime," Jiraiya said as they walked up to her.

"What do you want Jiraiya?"

"Jiraiya, can I try to handle this. Based on the fact that she looks like she wants to break your bones I think I might get better results." Naruto interrupted.

"Alright, give it a try," Jiraiya said, backing away to give them room, smirking all the while at how badly the kid would fail.

"Alright brat, what are you two here for?" Tsunade asked and Naruto sat down.

"The Sandaime was killed by Orochimaru, and we are here to retrieve the chosen Godaime. That means we are here for you."

She gave a derisive laugh. "Not going to happen."

"So you are content to sit here in your own drunken self-worthlessness? I honestly don't know why they want you to take this position. You truly are pathetic."

"Watch it brat, I could still take you down with one finger."

"As fun as it would be to watch you try, I had enough fights with drunken people back when I went to Wave. You probably would beat me. I wouldn't be able to breathe. I'd be laughing too hard. However, how about we settle it on a gamble?"

"I'm listening." She couldn't pass up a good chance to win some money.

"If I can master the Rasengan within the next three days, you come back and accept the post of Godaime Hokage."

"And if you lose?"

"Jiraiya will give you all the money he currently has on him."

"Alright, I accept."

"Good," Naruto said as he stood up. When he got to Jiraiya he had the toad sage walk next to him before he kept talking. "She will be coming back with us in a few days. From what you told me I know she couldn't resist a bet."

"Oh, so what were the stakes?"

"That I will master the Rasengan within the next few days. If I win she comes back with us, and if I lose you give her all the money you currently have on you."

"What?! You can't just bet my money like that!"

"The fact that I just did proves how wrong you are."

Jiraiya growled under his breath. "It's not just that. There is no way you can finish the Rasengan in such a short time."

"Yes I will, and the fact that none of you believe I can show why it was a good bet to make. Trust me Jiraiya."

"Fine, head back the hotel room we got. I'll meet up with you later."

When Naruto got there he made a quick hand seal before gripping his head in pain. "Crap that hurts. But I don't have time to do it slowly." Naruto said, once again trying to compose himself. 

Once he got over the pain he sat down so he could get back to work on the Rasengan. However, before he could, he heard a knock at the door.

When he opened it he was surprised to see Itachi and a man he had only read about. Kisame Hoshigaki. 

Itachi was the first to speak. "Naruto, you will be coming with us."

"Hey Itachi, can we cut off his legs to make it easier?" Kisame asked.

"Look, as fun as that sounds, I am going to have to decline that offer," Naruto responded before closing the door.

They sat in silence for a moment.

"Itachi?" Kisame asked.

"Yes?"

"He just closed the door like we were room service," Kisame said with disbelief on his face. He had expected some fear at least.

"So he did."

"Well, what now?"

Itachi sighed. "You can break the door."

"With pleasure," Kisame said before pulling out his sword and destroying the door. 

He was shocked to find Naruto coming at him with his fist cocked back. Before Kisame could pull back to block it Naruto was able to fly past with his fist connecting with Kisame's face. Before either Akatsuki members could recover their shock Naruto took off. Knowing he couldn't beat them at his current level, he did so while leaving behind several clones to stall them however long they could.

' _That should keep them busy until I find Ero-sanin.'_ Naruto thought as he took off.

* * *

 _ **That**_ night Jiraiya was sitting in Tsunade's room talking to her.

"So today the Akatsuki I've been trying to gather information on made a move to capture Naruto. I'm telling you, if you come back it will work. You and I both know he isn't their son. Sensei told us himself. He just named Naruto that to honor them."

"I know that Jiraiya. I was there. But we can't simply-"

"Of course we can. I have things set up perfectly. With you as the Hokage and the fact that most people in Konoha hate him, it won't be difficult to do. Besides, I already have him using it, so it will be simple. You and I both know that with him only containing half that it can't reform later. It needs at least part of its other half for it to be able to do that. It will also stop the Akatsuki from obtaining the Kyuubi. Two birds with one stone."

"Fine, I'll take it under consideration. But I still want to wait for this bet to be over so I can get your money."

* * *

 _ **They**_ were currently on their way back to Konoha with Tsunade and her apprentice Shizune. Naruto had surly shocked them all when he had intervened with the fight between them, Orochimaru, and his lapdog Kabuto. Naruto had sent in several clones out onto the field and had them charge the battle with either a sword or in their taijutsu stances. 

Most went after Orochimaru but Naruto took three clones with him to take on Kabuto. While two of the clones had swords, Naruto and one of the clones were ready to use taijutsu. They quickly engaged, putting Kabuto on the defensive as he dodged sword strikes and punches from Naruto. 

However, while the clones kept him busy Naruto simply made more to replace each if they were destroyed and soon enough had a total of five instead of the original three. One of the clones quickly lunged grabbing onto Kabuto's left leg. Before he could stab the clone with his chakra scalpel another clone took the opening to grab onto Kabuto's right arm. The rest of the clones took advantage of his state and stabbed their swords into Kabuto to hold him down before grabbing onto him to keep him from fighting. 

He was trying to escape when he noticed the real Naruto rushing towards him with a Rasengan in hand. He couldn't do anything as he was forced to take the Rasengan to the chest. However, as he had used his own medical jutsu to survive, Orochimaru had grabbed him and made their escape before they could be finished off.

This brought them to the gates of Konoha as Naruto had won the bet. Now that finding the new Hokage was over he needed to go home and prepare some things. He had a feeling that things were not over. He didn't know why, but he could feel the danger approaching. 

_'This is it. I can feel it. A decision will be made soon as to the paths I will be limited to. Things are moving ahead quite nicely. I might not have been promoted for the chunin exams, but rank matters little when you are stronger than most people. Now I just need to make sure that I actually am stronger than most people, and that will take time.'_


	7. Chapter 07

_**Naruto**_ was currently standing in front of the Godaime Hokage Tsunade Senju and Jiraiya. He had been called into there about something important. The new Hokage was handing him a scroll with his Name and a seal on it.

"What is this?" He asked.

"As far as we can tell, sensei left this and another scroll for you in his will," Tsunade said, handing him another scroll that was in the same state as the first.

"What are these seals on them?" Naruto asked, even though he had a good idea.

"Those are blood seals," Jiraiya responded. "They keep the scrolls closed and only release by the blood of the people they are registered to. From what we can tell, you and sensei are the only ones able to open them. And with him dead that only leaves you. We tried but they didn't respond to us."

"Alright, thank you. I'll take these then." Naruto said as he turned to leave. He stopped when he got to the door. "He was like a grandfather to me, so I think I know how you two are feeling about this. I'm sorry for your loss."

"And us for yours," Tsunade replied as Naruto left.

"So, I looked into it and found that he hasn't been seen near his apartment in the past few months. Not since he became a genin." Jiraiya said once Naruto was gone.

"What are you thinking?"

"I think there's something he isn't telling us."

"Do you think it's important enough to look into?"

"Maybe, we'll see," Jiraiya said as he took off out the window.

As they were talking Naruto was silently cursing under his breath. He had managed to figure out that Jiraiya had gone poking around his old apartment. At this rate, things could become difficult. However, for the time being, he was entering his home and headed for his office. Once he got in he put the two scrolls down on his desk and stared at them for a moment before picking one of them up. Once he unsealed it he found several sealing arrays filled with books, jutsu scrolls, as well as some of the Third's personal effects, and his battle armor.

' _I wonder how that got in here. He probably had spares and sealed one of them in here for me in case he died in battle.'_

In the second one, he found one much more sensitive. It was a letter from Hiruzen. Naruto started to read over it and once he was finished did it again.

' _Naruto, if you are reading this then I am dead. I'm sorry I could never get your trust back. Granted, I don't know if I deserved it. I betrayed your trust. However, I now face a problem as I write this. I was never able to rectify one of my greatest mistakes and now I must leave it in your hands to fix for me. My lack of trust was at an all-time high shortly before your birth due to Orochimaru and him leaving Konoha a few years before your birth. I started trying to fix this mistake a few days after I told you about your parents, but if you are reading this I died before I could do it as I was going to change this letter once I did. But to get to the point, I didn't trust people and that has cost me dearly. I never told Jiraiya or Tsunade about your parents. As a matter of fact, I told them you were not their son and that your name was merely to honor them and nothing more. I did this because with them both out of the village I didn't think I could trust them. It took a lot to get Tsunade to come back as she was already in her drunken misery at the time and I didn't know what she might say while drunk. Jiraiya, as you no doubt know, was not a hard person for women to get close to. Once again I didn't know how safe the information would be with him. While I tried to protect you I very well might have only brought you more danger. I am sorry and I hope that one day you can forgive me, even though I would understand if you didn't. I trust you now Naruto with most of what I have gathered over the years and hope that you find your path through all that has happened and whatever challenges you face in the future. I leave this all in your hands Naruto. Good-bye.'_

– _The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi._

Naruto sat there for a moment, thinking about what to do now. The mistakes of Hiruzen Sarutobi were starting to become a source of trouble for Naruto. However, this did explain several things. It explained why they weren't there for him, and also explained why he sensed an ulterior motive coming from Jiraiya. Now what to do about this letter.

' _I will not allow my name to protect me. I want to know what they do while thinking that I'm not the son of their friend. I will reveal it to them in time, but for now, I want to see how they act. This is now my secret to do with as I please. I will not simply give out my trust, it must be earned. It comes at the cost of passing my tests. It's time to see if they can do that.'_ Naruto thought to himself. ' _I do wonder though, what will they do next. I don't have long before something happens. I can feel it.'_ Naruto thought as he headed out. He had some things he needed to do.

* * *

_**Naruto**_ was currently about to talk to Neji, who he was able to find at one of the training grounds. Once he entered the clearing Neji noticed him almost instantly and turned to face him.

"Hello Uzumaki, I'm glad you are here because I wanted to talk to you," Neji said once Naruto was close enough.

"Oh, and what would that be? I only ask because I also wanted to talk to you."

"I wanted to thank you."

"What for?"

"Before I fought you I believed that no one could advance to become better than what the station they were born in gave them. However, you showed me that anyone could grow to become even stronger than anyone else around them with enough work. As a matter of fact, thanks to you I had a talk with my uncle. He told me some things that truly changed my views. I thank you for what you have done."

"You're welcome. It took me time and effort to get to where I am. So now, I wonder if I could call you my friend and ally." Naruto said as he reached out his hand.

"Yes, a friend and ally. Funny enough I don't think I have ever truly thought of someone as a friend until now." Neji said and he shook Naruto's hand in a sign of friendship.

"Well, now I have another friend. One more person that I hope to one day stand beside as an ally. However, for now, I must go. It's getting late and I still have something to do."

"Of course," Neji responded before Naruto turned and left.

* * *

_**It**_ had been a few days since Naruto had talked to Neji and he was currently standing on top of the head of Hashirama Senju's statue at the valley of the end. He was looking at Sasuke standing on top of the statue of Madara Uchiha.

"Sasuke, what are doing?! What do you think you can gain from a mad man like Orochimaru?!"

"The power I need to confront my brother and get answers from him. What you told me shows that I don't know everything about that night. I need answers from him and I need the power to do that."

"You truly are a fool. You might as well join Itachi."

"What are you talking about?"

"Orochimaru killed the Sandaime, and for the longest time, he was the closest thing I had to family. Yet you would join him."

"Shut up. I need to do this."

"What if I told you that I can give you the power needed to confront your brother?"

"What do you mean?"

"If you take the strength needed to fight Itachi and take two people whose combined ability adds up to that needed strength, then there is not nearly as much time needed to become as strong as you need to be to fight him alone. Allow your friends to help you fight him. No one ever said you needed to fight him alone."

Sasuke's eyes widened slightly at what Naruto said. He didn't have to fight him alone. But Itachi was his brother, it was his responsibility. "Naruto, thank you. However, this is something I must do on my own. However, for what it's worth, after all the missions, Wave, that near-death experience we had on that one mission-"

"We had to gather information from a mark on the women's side of a bathhouse and Kakashi sneezed. Funny enough we should have sent Sakura in and viewed from afar."

"Yeah, I have to wonder why she was the only one not there. However, after all of that, I have come to think of you almost as a brother in all but blood, so I am sorry." Sasuke said as he turned to face Naruto, his curse mark flaring to life. "I will return once I have my answers."

Naruto knew that trying to convince him further wouldn't work. He would have to tell him about Itachi when they got back to the village. It would be the only way to write a few wrongs that have been created by Konoha.

' _Hey fox, mind giving me a bit of a boost? I'm stronger but that curse mark puts him at a higher level than I am now.'_ His response was the feeling of extra chakra flowing through him as a red shroud started to wrap around him, changing some of his features as a tail of red chakra formed behind him.

"So, it would seem I'm not the only one with a strange power. When I get back you're going to have to tell me about it." Sasuke said with a smile as if he was talking about being back tomorrow.

"I can't let you leave. Don't think it's because of my loyalty to the village or my orders Sasuke. It's because of my loyalty to those who have my trust and to my friends. So I will stop you because I already gave my word." Naruto said as he got ready to fight. Sasuke also got ready to fight before they both launched at each other.

* * *

_**Naruto**_ was currently struggling to walk back to the village. His fight with Sasuke had been difficult and had pushed him to his limits. He had almost exhausted all of his chakra but had regained some of it by dispersing the clones he had working on his project at his home, and used the boost to finish it. He had been pushed to three tails when Sasuke had activated his level two curse mark. However, he was currently struggling to get back right now primarily because he had two already healing holes in his left chest and right shoulder, and the fact that he was carrying Sasuke on his back. When Sasuke was walking away and apologizing for what he had done to Naruto, Naruto had used the last of his energy from the clones to slam a weak and low powered Rasengan into Sasuke's back. It had only knocked him out because of how weak it was but had gotten the job done.

Naruto had been brought from his musings as he saw the gate come into sight as well as two figures standing in front of it. The road to the gate was usually busy, but with the things that happened in the past few weeks. As Naruto got closer he started to get a bad feeling.

' _Why are two ANBU waiting for me? I could understand the two guards waiting for me, but this isn't important enough for them to send ANBU. Something isn't right here.'_ Naruto thought before making a small, unseen, hand seal as the ANBU started to move closer to him. Naruto was about to ask what they were doing here before one of the ANBU left his sight and everything went black.

* * *

_**When**_ Naruto came to he was laying against the stone wall of a cell. The entire cell was stone, aside from the steel bars that made up the door and small windows that let in light and linked the cell to its neighboring cells, though those were smaller than the one letting in light.

' _Where am I? The last thing I remember was the ANBU and then-'_ Naruto stopped thinking as he realized what had happened. _'They betrayed me. I trusted these people and they betrayed me. But why? Why did they put me in here, and what do they plan to do with me now?'_ Naruto thought before he heard someone walking closer to his cell. When they stopped in front of his he looked up to see Tsunade and Jiraiya standing there.

"You're awake. Good. That means we can talk about what happened."

"Yes, I'm a bit curious as to why I'm in this cell so talking might be a good place to start before I tear this place apart."

"Not going to happen, kid," Jiraiya spoke up. "This place is meant for shinobi prisoners. The whole-cell is covered with seals to keep a person from using their chakra. Not to mention we slapped you with a few of them, including some to suppress the Kyuubi."

"Overkill, don't you think?" Naruto asked with a joking tone. The two Sannin weren't laughing. "Oh well. Then tell me why I'm in here."

"To get rid of the threat," Tsunade replied, as Naruto sat up and composed himself.

"I was one of the people who discovered that the Kyuubi incident was not an accident. The last Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi had it extracted before it was used against the village and then sealed into you by the Yondaime. I also managed to find out that he took part of the Kyuubi and sealed in into himself before he died. Without that other half, when you die it won't regenerate in a few years." Jiraiya included.

"So you intend to kill me so that the Kyuubi will die?" They nodded. "So when Jiraiya pushed me off a cliff, that's what the Kyuubi meant when he said that if I die he dies. How about, instead of you keeping me in here I make a deal with you. You let me out of here, we pretend this never happened, you owe me two favors each, and I also forget you ever locked me in here."

"And what if refuse?" Tsunade asked, not liking where this was going.

"You have three days to accept the other deal. Because, if you keep me locked in here after the three days are up another deal will be put into place. You keep me in here, and I swear that I will kill you all. But wait, there's more. I'll make sure that some people die in some excruciatingly painful ways." Naruto said with a sadistic smile growing on his face.

"Even more reason to keep you right where you are until your execution," Jiraiya said.

"I do have to wonder how you got approval to do this."

"It wasn't hard since most the council hates you and that I'm the Hokage. Once we had a sensory type watch your fight and see you unleash so much of the Kyuubi's chakra, it was easy to have many of them agreeing with it." Tsunade said

"Let me ask you this; how long have you two been planning this?"

"I have been planning this for a while, but Tsunade only got in on this when we picked her up in that town to bring her back," Jiraiya answered.

"I figured that this was your plan. She was too drunk and you two are too stupid to come up with this in such a short time."

"Can it, if you think trying to make us angry will help you it won't. We're going to give you a pubic execution once everything is ready." Jiraiya said.

"I can't wait. Now leave, I'm tired." Naruto said as he laid back down.

Before they could say anything Naruto was asleep and they could tell they weren't going to get a further response from him.

When Naruto woke up again he could hear a noise from the cell to the right of his. Tack* Tack* Tack*. In reality, his neighbor was throwing a small piece of stone at the wall.

"Do you really need to keep doing that?" Naruto asked. The noise stopped.

"Why the hell should I fool?"

"I'm the fool? From your voice, and if I remember correctly, your name is Tayuya, correct?"

"Yes, that is my name. But from what I heard you actually fell for a trap laid out for you a long time ago."

"Yes, I was betrayed. I trusted them and they betrayed me. However, so were you."

"How did you pull that one out of your anus?"

"Simple. Orochimaru could be here right now, getting you out. A Sannin as powerful and sneaky as he would have no problem getting you out of here and being gone before anyone knew what was happening. Yet here you are, sitting in a cell next to me."

"Shut up! I'm sure that there are things keeping him from doing so."

"Yes, I'm sure there is. Probably the fact that with you in here you are no longer worth anything to him. To him, you are nothing more than a broken tool."

"Shut up, I am a part of Orochimaru's personal guard!"

"You were a member of his guard. You stopped guarding him the moment you were left behind to keep Sasuke moving forward, and became little more than failed experiments when you lost your individual fights. You know I'm right. He doesn't even care that you're still alive. So tell me, how did you wind up in here?" Naruto asked, breaking away from the original conversation.

"You just changed the subject moron."

"Yes, I did. Now, would you answer my question?"

There was an audible sigh. "I don't even know. Last thing I remember before waking up in this crap-hole was being crushed by a tree."

"Well, if I only said one thing about that, it would be that you should count yourself lucky to be alive."

"Oh, yes, I'm so happy to still be alive so I can sit in this cell and be tortured for information until they no longer need me alive." Tayuya's voice came through the window along with a wave of sarcasm.

Naruto sighed before his eyes widened slightly and then went back to normal. He sighed again before standing up and walking to the door of his cell and looking around. He couldn't see much, but from what he could tell there wasn't anyone around. He then walked to the window he was talking to Tayuya through.

"Do you know if anyone is around?"

"No one should be right now. Why?"

"Because I want to ask you something, and I don't want them hearing it. You and I were both betrayed, so if I were able to get you out would you take up the bargain that comes with it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"If I get you out of here, will you agree to do something for me?"

"Like what?"

"When you get out, head east and slightly south until you get to the southernmost part of the Land of Hot Water and there will be a small village. Go there and wait for me to get there. Then I will offer you a new lease on life. As long as you do that and agree to give my next offer once I meet you there a chance, then you will be out of here within the next fifty-two hours."

"Oh, and what about my friends? Even I have morals."

"So you weren't the only survivor?"

"No, all of the original sound four survived and at least two hundred sound shinobi were captured. Granted, at least fifty of those were killed already. The only person I know for sure didn't make it was Kimimaro. I don't know why he was the only one of the sound five who didn't survive."

"I'll tell you what," Naruto said leaning against the wall and putting his face against the bars of the window so he could barely see part of her head, "As long as you ensure that as many of them come with you as possible."

"Alright, I'll accept. I'll accept just because of how impossible and outlandish that plan is."

"Oh? Don't you know? Part of my reputation is for making the impossible, possible."

"HAHAHA! Alright, just for that, I'll make sure to do just that the moment we're out of here."

"I can't guarantee that all of them will be out of here, it will be difficult to get out as many as I will," Naruto said as he started to smile like a mad man.

"I can accept that."

"Good."

* * *

_**Naruto**_ was currently sitting by the door to his cell. It had been fifty-one-one-and-a-half hours and Naruto had been subject to some people coming in and torturing him. He had also heard Tayuya being tortured. However, they were actually trying to get information out of her rather than simply beating him because they hated him.

However, Naruto was listening to Tayuya calling him a liar about his deal. She had never expected him to deliver and was just mocking him now.

"Be quiet Tayuya, watch the show unfold."

"What sh-" She was interrupted by an explosion coming from down the hall. The reaction was immediate as shinobi appeared in the hall to respond. They didn't get more than a few feet before kunai came out of the smoke and pinned their arms to the walls. Before they could do anything to get away a figure came out of the smoke. The figures form said that they were obviously male. The figure was wearing black, featureless pants, a shirt designed the same way, and a large black trench coat that was open and had a hood that was up. This hood kept the shadows over most of his face while a small cloth covered the rest of it. The other distinguishable detail about him was that he had a large scythe over his shoulders, behind his head, and with his forearms draped over its long handle as if the current situation was nothing to him. He moved over and knocked out the shinobi pinned to the wall with his elbows.

His head turned to their cells before he gripped his scythe with his right hand closer to the blade and the left lower down as he readied the weapon. It took him no time at all to bring it down and rip apart the door to Tayuya's cell. Before he could do anything more Ibiki Morino who attacked him with his own blades, a kunai in his right hand and a tanto in his left hand. However, before he could do any damage, the figure brought his scythe down. He used the blade to block his tanto and the handle to block his kunai. He quickly pushed Ibiki back. Before Ibiki could react the man let his left hand release his weapon before he relaxed, and black shapes started to emerge from his body. When enough of them came out of him they could be identified as more of the figure as they simply phased out of his body.

' _What kind of clones are those? I've never heard of someone being able to do something like this!'_

Then the figure spoke, his voice sounding deep and distorted. "Hold him and get to work. I'm going to get to my on job." He said as one of his clones went in and grabbed Tayuya before taking off like the rest of them. Before Ibiki could shake himself of his surprise, the figure pulled his scythe out of the ground and used the handle of it to pull Ibiki's feet out from under him. The man walked up to him and stepped on Ibiki's fingers when he tried to reach for his tanto. "I'm letting you live so that the future can be more fun." The figure said before knocking Ibiki out. He turned to leave.

"Hey, aren't you going to let me out to?!" Naruto asked.

"No, and you know why so don't ask." The figure responded before walking back out of the hole he came in through.

* * *

_**There**_ was currently a man walking through the woods. He was wearing a traveling cloak that was buttoned closed and with the hood up. He was hunched over so his face was hidden. When he came to a clearing with a two-story Japanese style home with white walls and black roofing. He walked up to it before stopping five feet away. He pulled out a scroll from within his cloak before setting it down on the ground and opening it to reveal a large and complex sealing array that was also empty. He put his hands on the scroll before the sealing array extended over the ground in front of him and under the house.

When the array was all over the ground in front of him and under the house, chains shot out of the ground and wrapped around and all over the house. As the chains made contact with the building they became flat before morphing into seals all over the walls, supports, and roofing. In an instant, there was a burst of smoke as the building disappeared. When the man stood up he looked at the scroll. In the middle of the sealing array was the kanji fore home. He put the scroll back away in his cloak and turned around. The moment he got beyond the trees he disappeared.

* * *

_**Later**_ that night Tayuya was running through the woods rallying the rest of the sound shinobi so they could all meet at the same place. Once she had them all, including the rest of the sound four, she told them that their next orders were to meet in a village in the south of the Land of Hot Water. She had plenty of arguments about it but the rest of the sound four knew they had no orders and decided to ask here about it on the way. Once they were on their way Tayuya refused to tell them and said they would know soon. Sakon and Ukon tried to play the leader card but still got nothing. They were curious about these orders and decided to wait.

' _I can't believe I'm actually doing this. But the fool did follow through on his part. I wonder what else he can do. Heck, he even got all but thirteen of them, and they were dead before any of that escape ever happened. I wonder what's going to happen once he meets us there.'_

* * *

_**Naruto**_ was currently sitting in his cell. He had been interrogated about the attack but when he pointed out that he was still here and everyone but him was long gone they simply dropped the matter. Now he was currently sitting in the dark corner of his cell as the moon was the only light source right now.

"I still can't believe that it actually turned out like this", came his voice from the dark corner of the cell.

It would seem that the decision to plan for many large things including this was quite a wise decision. Even though this betrayal shocked him, he could no longer stop himself from smirking as everything was going according to plan. _'I still can't believe that it turned out this way. Oh well. All that's left is to sit and wait'_ However he could not stop himself from thinking of all the events leading up to thought to himself as the memories of everything that had happened in the past few years went through his mind. _'Everything is going to get really busy here in the next few days. But why should that matter? It has all been going according to plan.'_

* * *

**_A_** figure was currently standing in a room with several people. He was wearing a dark, black, and tattered cloak. He looked at his gathered subordinates before speaking in his authoritative voice. "Hello, I'm glad you all could make it on such short notice. I have recently gathered some new intel." He said as he pulled out several folders. "Gozu, Meizu. Pass these out to the rest of them." They complied and everyone started to read through the information they were given. "We will be making our move within the next year. Be ready to move at any moment. You don't know when we will move, just like I don't know when we will make our move yet. Be ready, you are my elite generals. When I found most of you I would have shrugged off anyone telling me I would say that to you in the future. However, in the last several months, bordering on a year, you have all grown more powerful. Now, I am placing important tasks in your hands. Don't fail me." He said before everyone took off except Gozu and Meizu.

"When I found you two tied to a tree I almost laughed about your predicament and now look at you two." Their armor was mostly unchanged but was now more advanced. While before it wouldn't have stood up to much for extended periods of time, it could now withstand moderate damage for a long period of time. Their skills had also improved, as they could now be classified on the same level as most mid-level Jonin.

"Thank you, sir," Meizu said.

"Of course. Now what you need to know is that things won't stay as calm as they are now for very long. The game is about to change. Once everything is set up I will fulfill my promise that I made to you two when I found you. Here soon I will end the war in Kiri. Here soon this world will change."


	8. Chapter 08

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to let everyone know that chapter 02 of the rewrite is being posted alongside this chapter. The rewrite is set up as its own story, so if you want to check that out it will be a separate work.  
> Also, along with the other edits, I plan on including in the rewrite, I know that I overuse many phrases in my early writing. "To say that blah blah blah would be an understatement," and other things like that. I'm aware of those issues and they are part of my plan to fix the rewrite. As the story progresses, know that the story will also have changes in the second version. For anyone who drops this story as it goes, I hope that you keep up with me to give the rewrite a chance when the time comes. As always, I look forward to any comments and feedback to help with making my future writing better.

_**Naruto**_ had been sitting in his cell for two weeks now and was surprised to have a visitor that didn't want him dead. He had seen the man before during the few times he had stood in front of the council. This was Danzo. He was standing there with his hands folded over his can. He was also the only one there besides Naruto.

"What do you want old man?" Danzo's visible eye narrowed at the comment but that was his only visible reaction.

"I'm here to make you an offer."

"What offer is that?"

"You are a jinchuriki. They have always been the most powerful weapons for a ninja village to have. I would like for you to come work for me at a secret division of the ANBU called ROOT. In exchange, you are no longer in this cell and will not be executed."

"Tempting offer. Yes, I think that under different circumstances I would accept your offer. However, things have been set in motion and I can no longer stop them. I'm going to have to decline your offer."

"You're making a mistake."

"No, you made a mistake. You thought that I wasn't right where I want to be and that will cost you." Danzo's eye narrowed further.

"What game are you playing? What do you get from being in this cell, about to be executed?"

"Wait and see Danzo, Wait and see," Naruto said before Danzo turned and disappeared.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ was currently sitting in his cell. It had been a little more than a month since they had locked him up in that cell, and he was starting to become impatient. He was sitting there, tapping his fingers rhythmically before releasing a heavy sigh.

"Hey, Ibiki," Naruto said, getting the man's attention. He had been posted there to watch Naruto in case anything happened.

"What do you want now?" About an hour ago Naruto had bugged him with stupid questions non-stop. He was bored and that was fun.

"I was wondering when my execution will happen. I'm starting to become impatient."

"Most people try to postpone their death. You want it sooner?"

"No, I simply want this charade over with."

"What charade?"

Before Naruto could answer him they both heard someone getting closer. It was Tsunade and Jiraiya. Ibiki stood up to greet them but he was ignored. Once they were facing Naruto Tsunade spoke.

"Naruto Uzumaki, your execution is in an hour. Any last words?"

"Finally. I was growing impatient, as I have already told Ibiki. As for my last words I think that I should address the audience with them. After all, they are who the words are for. But you have finally graced me with your presence for the first time since you locked me up. I guess you didn't take my offer of mercy too seriously did you."

"Whatever. How could you do anything to kill us all with you about to die yourself?"

"You're going to regret not taking me seriously," Naruto said as a crazed look appeared in his eyes. "I promise you this, I'm going to burn this village to the ground. So many people will die because you didn't take my words seriously. Kiba, Shikamaru, your precious council. They will have their heads on pikes, but only after they watch their clans slaughtered, and they themselves are tortured. Only when they beg for death will I grant it. Sakura, I'll make sure she and Ino are dropped in a prison in Iwagakure, wearing nothing but their headbands and chakra suppressors. Of course, Ino will also watch as I kill her clan. Do you people think you're invincible? You lady Tsunade, I will personally keep my foot on your windpipe until you start to turn purple. Then I will release my foot just enough for you to inhale a large breath, right before I crush your windpipe and leave you there. The last thought that will go through your mind will be you wondering how you could have screwed up so much, as you watch your village burn. I will raze this place to the ground and no one will be able to stop me." Naruto said, looking absolutely hysterical at this point. When he was done his face quickly recomposed into one of calm and collectiveness.

Jiraiya was the first to get over his shock at how insane the boy sounded. "You really are one crazy bastard aren't you." It wasn't a question.

"I might have been in here too long, but sometimes the only way to stay sane is to look out though those bars and say 'is everyone out there nuts?!'" Naruto said, grinning again.

Tsunade gave one last look of disgust before turning and leaving with Jiraiya in tow.

"So, things are finally moving along." Naruto said. Before Ibiki could shake what had just happened Naruto asked, "Would you like to hear a song?" Ibiki didn't respond. "I guess I'll sing it anyway. The beet was slow and calm but had an ominous undertone to it as Naruto tapped the stone with it.

"Please tell me, where I could be. I can't tell, 'cause I can't see. Torches lit, and I find I'm alone. Expected, as nothing's set in stone. Long ago, I found myself stuck here. Now my heart is clouded with fear. Find my way, through this deadly maze. Stow away, preserve or raze. As I've learned, and as I've known. Nothing is set in stone. I remember well when they left me to die. A stab in the back, a cut of all ties. Please tell me, who you could be. I can't tell, 'cause I can't see. I'm not blind, I have my sense of vision. But my eyes, are clouded with darkness. Long ago, I found myself stuck here. Now I'm just, a confused creature. Find your way, through this puzzle. Don't lose hope, or darkness will control. As I've learned, and as I've known. Nothing is set in stone. I remember well, the last day we shone. They left me cause, nothing's set in stone."

Naruto finally came to a stop. "Well, that's all. Oh well, I guess it's time for things to start moving along.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ was being led out to his execution by Tsunade and Jiraiya, yet he couldn't stop smiling.

'I'm prepared for this. It can't be stopped anyway. Not even the very handsome writer of this story.' Naruto's smile got bigger at the thought. 'Someone writing all of this out as it happens. Ridiculous.' Naruto thought to himself before Jiraiya noticed the smile.

"What're you smiling about brat? You're about to die."

"Simple toad. I have a surprise for everyone"

"Whatever."

When they finally got outside they had Naruto climb up a small tower. When they finally got up Naruto was able to see the most of the village had gathered to see him executed. Naruto didn't have time to marvel at this before he was pushed to his knees. He could still see almost all the crowd, as he was close to the edge. He looked around him and saw that apart from Tsunade and Jiraiya, there was a stereotypical executioner, hood and all.

Tsunade spoke up loud enough for all to hear. "Now, we are all going to watch his head roll. But first, he has asked that you all hear his final words. Considering his service in retrieving Sasuke Uchiha I doubt any of you will object." Silence followed. She turned to Naruto. "Speak while you have the chance."

Naruto looked out over the sea of people and saw a few familiar faces. He saw most of the Konoha twelve. He could see the looks of hatred and disgust behind the eyes of Sakura, Ino, Kiba, and Choji. He saw the look of confusion, hatred, and guilt in the eyes of Lee. He could see indifference and boredom on Shikamaru's face. He didn't even see Tenten.

When his eyes landed on some of the sensei out in the crowd he saw varying things. Kakashi held disappointment in his eyes. Kurenai looked like she wanted to be the executioner. Asuma looked sorry that he wasn't doing anything to stop it. Guy looked disappointed that such an un-youthful thing was being done to Naruto.

His friends all had the same extreme determination in their eyes. He could see it in Shino, Hinata, Neji, and Konohamaru and his team. Sasuke and Anko weren't there. He already knew they wouldn't be. He could see the Ichiraku family standing there, looking like they wanted to kill whoever was responsible for this. Naruto smiled. So many people cared that he didn't care about those who hated him. It's time.

"Everyone in Konoha, I have fought for you and this is where I have ended up. I have things to say to many of you. Sakura, I tried to be your friend and now you look at me with hatred. Kiba and Choji, I tried to show you how wrong you were about judging people, but it would appear I failed. Kakashi, you once said that those who abandoned their teammates are worse than trash. Yet there you stand, looking at me with disappointment." Naruto smirked. "Obito and Rin would be disappointed." He loved seeing the shock and anger on Kakashi's face.

"My friends, just stand by and enjoy the show I have for you. You see, you have yet to capture me. As a matter of fact, I should be two days from Iwagakure by now." Naruto smirked even more. He loved their confusion. "Back in Wave, I started experimenting with the Kage Bunshin jutsu. I was trying to make them last longer. I won't go into details, but it worked. Granted it eats chakra like crazy. For me, I was lucky to keep the clone for as long as I did." He loved every moment as understanding dawned on most of them. It's amazing what you can do with them when you have chakra reserves like mine." They were too shocked to stop him as he stood up. "I will be back, and when I return I will raze this village to the ground. All of you will pay the debt you now owe me. I promise you, that Naruto Namikaze Uzumaki will return and slaughter all of you! You all have a debt to pay, and I will make sure it will be paid in full!" He yelled before bursting into a large explosion of smoke.

Everyone in the crowd was speechless for all of five seconds before it tuned to pandemonium as they all started to panic. Naruto was loose and claimed he would one day return. Not only that but he claimed his name to be Namikaze. What was going on could only be described as pure chaos. It went exactly as planned. Hinata, Shino and the others shared a look before taking off. No one noticed them in the chaos. They didn't know this was going to happen, but they knew someone who did and had to get to the eastern gate.

Tsunade was now shouting orders at the ANBU to head out and catch up with him. She did not want him to escape. It took all of five minutes for her to get most of them to move out. Before she could move an inch one of the barrier team appeared before her.

"Lady Tsunade, we have a problem. We were watching the sensory sphere and saw a small group of ripples at the east gate. Before we could react it looked like a paper bomb had gone off on the sphere in the same location. Then the entire sphere just collapsed. The other two from the detection division and the five from the interception division are checking it out right now, but one thing is for certain. The barrier is gone." Tsunade looked like someone had just called her old before smacking her in the face. The shock she was experience would give lesser people a heart attack.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ was currently running through the woods. They had betrayed him and now he had to hope that it worked. It had to. If they found out that they captured a clone before he was ready then it wouldn't be long before they caught up with him. But he couldn't run anymore. He was already tired from the fight with Sasuke and just used all but the very last of his chakra to make that clone. He couldn't keep going. He crashed into a tree, hugging it for dear life, trying not to fall down. He failed at that task as his hands stopped gripping the tree to cushion his fall. Everything went dark before he even hit the ground.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ started to come back to reality and attempted to clear his mind. Before he could fully wake up his memories came back to him and he shot up. Pain shot through him as he did so. He let out a small groan and laid back down slowly. He quickly cleared his mind as best he could and looked around while gathering his bearings. He still had his pants on, but his shirt was gone and replaced with bandages over his chest.

He was in a normal-sized room in what appeared to be a cabin. The walls were relatively undecorated, apart from a painting of a small cabin on a lake and in the woods with a mountain in the background. There was little furniture apart from a nightstand and a small writing desk. However, Naruto's eyes were drawn to the door as he saw it open.

There in the doorway was an old man wearing simple black pants, a gray shirt, and a black robe over them. The most noticeable feature about him was his faded red hair that fell down between his shoulder blades and framed his face. He had a calm and almost wise look. He walked over to Naruto before speaking in a manner that spoke volumes about him. It was calm and yet felt like he could have a yelling match with the Hokage if he wanted to.

"Good, you're finally awake."

"How long have I been sleeping?"

"A little more than a day. Any other person would have been out far longer with the injuries you had. Though, most of them, like you would have, had your wounds not healed at such an astonishing rate."

"Yeah, guess I'm just lucky like that."

"I would think that someone with your burden would consider yourselves a little less than lucky?"

"What do you mean?"

"First let me ask about this patch I found on you." The mas said before holding up the patch that had been on Naruto's pant leg. "Where did you get it?"

"I was told that it belonged to my mother."

"And who was your mother?"

"Why do you want to know?"

He turned it over to show the engraving on the back. It had two sets of initials on it. They were both K.U.

"Because this belonged to my daughter."

"Well, based on your hair, can I assume that you are the father of Kushina Uzumaki?"

"So, I have met my grandson then?"

"Yes, I believe you have."

"Well, now that I know you are an Uzumaki that explains why you hold the Kyuubi."

"How do you know about that?"

"The burden of being the Kyuubi jinchuriki has been somewhat of an Uzumaki tradition for a long time."

"You mean how my mother was brought to Konoha to be the next one."

"Yes. I was never told what happened to her. After the destruction of Uzushio, I came here and discreetly tried to find her. I knew that if a made a seen that people would come after me. However I was never able to find her until after she became the wife of the Yondaime, and I take it that is where you got your hair. When I knew she was safe I decided to keep I distance until I was needed. I knew she was pregnant but believed you died in the Kyuubi attack."

"You can blame that on the Sandaime and his law for that one. No one was allowed to talk about the Kyuubi in the village. It was meant to keep the next generation from hating me. We see how well that worked out. So do you mind telling me how I got here?"

"I was out on a hike when I came across your fight with the Uchiha. I watched and when you took him back I followed. I saw what they did to you and heard that they put you in prison. I also saw you take off and found you passed out under a tree. I took you back here and treated your wounds, though I didn't need to do much seeing as how they were healing so quickly."

"Oh, I love shadow clones."

"Yes, how did you get it to last so long and withstand that damage?"

"Without going into specifics, I experimented with the jutsu and discovered a way to maintain a link. Through this link, I can feed the clone more chakra as it's needed. There are drawbacks but I can also pass ideas and thoughts to the clone in real-time. One of the drawbacks is that once I start getting lower on chakra it will start to make moving more difficult as I try to focus. Eventually, I won't be able to walk. These effects are only temporary until I regain my strength."

"Amazing. Granted, I could only see someone with the chakra reserves of a Jinchuriki being able to do so."

"So then, if you don't mind me asking, what do I call you? Grandfather?"

"If you want. However, my name is Kamaji Uzumaki if you want to call me by my name."

"Boiler Geezer?"

"My mother named me that after a character from her favorite book, Spirited Away."

"Alright, I'll call you Kamaji for now and see what happens. For right now though, I want to go back to sleep." Naruto said before passing back out.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ had used the memories of the clone to develop a plan for giving him some much-needed muscle. He had the clone make a deal with one of its neighboring prisoners and was about to head out to follow through with his side of the bargain.

"Hey, Kamaji. Do you have any clothes I can borrow?" Naruto asked before explaining his plan.

"Sure, but are you sure you want to go with a scythe?"

"Yes, if anyone recognizes my sword style there, there'll be problems."

"So how do you intend on getting them all out in time? You will have a small window before most of the village's shinobi get there."

"Shadow clones."

"Won't it stick out when someone uses as many clones as you'll need?"

"No, I learned another way to deploy them. No one will know what they are and that will be useful to me. I can make them appear to emerge from my body. In all actuality, I learned how to make them live up to their name. I can make them emerge from my shadows. The Nidaime had "

"Alright, be careful," Kamaji said before Naruto took off. He was now wearing black, featureless pants, a shirt designed the same way, and a large black trench coat that was open and had a hood that was up. This hood kept the shadows over most of his face while a small cloth covered the rest of it and had a device meant to distort one's voice on the inside. He kept the scythe on his back for the time being. He was also currently Henged into a taller version of himself so that the clothes fit him. He was still only thirteen.

Sneaking into the walls of the prison was easy enough for him. They were trying to keep people in, not out. When he busted in he quickly deployed his clones, took care of Ibiki, and made sure all of the sound shinobi were out. Getting out was more difficult, but having so many people charging at once made things easier. The fact that their chakra was no longer being suppressed also helped. Once they were out of the prison Naruto found Tayuya and told here to keep her end of the bargain.

He then quickly escaped the ANBU by using his secret tunnels he had built over time before returning to the cabin.

"I trust everything went well?" Kamaji asked.

"Yes. Herder but not difficult. I have a question for you."

"And that would be?"

"Can you seal a building into a scroll?"

"Yes, the seals need to be specially made for it, but yes."

"Well, I can't work on seals that complex yet. I need you to do something for me."

"And what would that be?"

"I need you to keep your face hidden and seal my home in a scroll until I can find a place for it later."

"Alright, I think I can do that. Am I to understand that most of the world's remaining Uzumaki artifacts, or other related items, are in there?"

"Yes," Naruto responded before telling him where it was.

"I'll be back in a while," Kamaji said before putting on his hooded traveling cloak and leaving.

 _ **Naruto**_ had opted to stay henged and covered by Kamaji's traveling cloak any time he went into Konoha. As it turned out, the cabin was just within the barrier that covered Konoha and the surrounding training grounds. He was on his way to handle Karin. To most people, she died during the chunin exams. However, after they were over Naruto had her stay in a small rented room until he could figure out what to do. He was just happy she hadn't done anything stupid when he was imprisoned. He needed to handle the situations that everyone would cause over this. Gaara, Karin, and his other friends would no doubt raise chaos over his imprisonment.

When he got to where she had been living these past few weeks he knocked on the door and waited a few seconds before she answered the door. When she did he removed the hood just enough for her to see his face. She immediately let him inside.

"Naruto, how are you here? Did you escape?"

"No, I managed to make them think they have me imprisoned. I won't go into details on how I did it just yet. However, I need you to do something for me."

"What is it?"

"Tonight I want you to meet me here." He said as he handed her a piece of paper telling her how to get to the cabin. "Go ahead and get together what you have. I intend on making this village suffer someday. For now, I'm going to fix a mistake made a long time ago."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll see eventually. For now, just do as I instruct and things will turn out fine. I planned for this after all." Naruto said before giving her a smile. "I have other things I need to do in order to keep everything on track. I'll talk more with you back at the cabin." He said before turning to leave. "Just be careful. I'll see you later." Naruto said before walking out the door.

He was now headed to where the sand siblings and their sensei had been staying. When he got there he could hear glass breaking. Gaara was no doubt pissed about what was happening to his friend.

Naruto sighed. 'This is going to be fun.' Naruto thought before knocking on the door.

The door was almost ripped off its hinges when Gaara opened it. Naruto could see the other three occupants of the room cowering in the corner in a comical anime fashion as Gaara's shadow loomed over them.

"You had better be here to tell me my friend has been released or this will not end well for you," Gaara said. Naruto smirked before lifting his hood.

"I have something better." The look on Gaara's face was priceless. "Can I come in? I wasn't set free, so being out in the open is dangerous for me." Naruto said, his smirk turning into a broad smile. Gaara simply stepped to the side to let him in. Naruto noticed the other occupants sighing in relief that the rampage was over for the time being.

"I can't stay for long. I can come by tomorrow but for today I'm trying to keep people from doing anything stupid. However, I need you to calm down so you don't ruin relations between Konoha and your village. You need them for the time being. They don't need you as much."

They all nodded, knowing he was right. For the moment their village needed Konoha's aid to keep things in order. However, they were all interested in how Naruto was here if they didn't release him.

"Naruto, how are you here if they haven't released you? We have yet to hear anything about you escaping. We would have done something to help you." Gaara said.

"They currently have a clone in their possession. I won't bother explaining everything right now, but I want you to go back to Sunagakure soon. Simply wait there until I contact you again. I have everything planned out and so long as you wait it should all turn out fine." They all nodded at his words.

"Naruto," Kankuro spoke up, "I wanted to thank you for helping our brother."

"Of course," Naruto said before turning to leave. "When you leave just wait for me to contact you. Soon enough everything will go just the way I want it." Naruto said before bidding them farewell. He left and was now on his way to make sure everyone else would keep from causing problems. However, with them, he needed to be careful. He couldn't meet most of them where they were staying without problems. The Hyuga and Aburame compounds were not without some level of security. The same could go for the Sarutobi. He needed to find a way to get to them without giving himself away.

He decided that a good first step would be to go to Ichiraku. When he got there he wasn't disappointed, as Hinata and Shino were the only people eating there at the moment. He sat down next to them and ordered miso ramen. Then he spoke.

"So what do you people think of this Naruto Uzumaki? What do you think about all this going on?"

Hinata was the first to speak up. "I think that what they're doing to him is wrong. After everything he's done, they took what they could and now they're killing him off for no good reason."

"Well, I can't argue with you there. However, it's not like you can stop it." Naruto responded.

"We know that already," Shino said. "Anko tried to break him out and got sent on a mission that's supposed to take at least a month. They did this so that they could keep her skill but also keep her out of the way."

"If a special Jonin couldn't do anything, what do you hope to accomplish?"

"Shut up!" Ayame said. "Who do you think you are, speaking like that?"

"Well, what if I told you that he isn't actually in prison like everyone thinks?"

"What are you talking about?" Hinata asked.

"Within the next couple of months, a specific event is going to happen pertaining to Naruto. When it does, meet me at the eastern gate with everyone you can trust." Naruto said before standing up.

"Hold on. Who are you?" Shino asked.

"A friend that can help. Just don't do anything stupid." He left some money on the counter, even though he never ate his ramen, before leaving.

"Who was that?" Hinata asked.

"I'm not sure, but I have to wonder...." Shino responded as some of his bugs crawled from the ground and back onto his body.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ had spent the last hour-and-a-half walking towards the Valley of the End. He had been forced to sneak out through one of the four main gaits to avoid detection via the barrier. It had taken some time, but he had finally reached what he was looking for. In the middle of this clearing was a small desert with a white spike protruding from the ground across the entire expanse of the clearing. One, in particular, caught his eye. It had a pale-skinned man with white hair and a lance-like protrusion coming from his arm. His name was Kimimaro. He was not in his curse mark form and was hanging limply there, dead. Naruto noticed something off. He walked in between the spikes and got closer before using his chakra to walk up next to the body. He was right, there was something off. His curse mark was missing. When Naruto had met him the mark was right below his neck. Now it was missing.

'A mark like this doesn't just disappear. I'm going to need to look into this. I was already going to take the body just in case, but now I have reason to.' Naruto thought before making quick work of Kimimaro's bones. Once the body was out there was still some bone encasing parts of him but it didn't matter, as Naruto sealed his body in a scroll. 'You said that this was all to repay Orochimaru because he gave you a purpose. Your debt has been paid and now I wonder....' Naruto thought before leaving the clearing.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ was currently standing in a large clearing far from the village. His plan was to see what he still had access to. He had several clones fan out across a large area to make sure no one could see what he was about to do. Quickly he bit his thumb before flashing through hand seals and pushing his hands to the ground. Within seconds he was once again standing on top of the chief toad.

What do you want Naruto?"

"I want to talk with you," Naruto said with a knowing smirk. He jumped off the toad and landed in front of him before turning around and facing him. "I want to know if Jiraiya has talked to you recently."

"No, he hasn't. Why?"

"Because I was betrayed."

* * *

 _ **It**_ was currently the day of Naruto's execution and he was standing in the plaza waiting for the clone to be brought out. He had made sure that Kamaji had sealed his home and the Uzumaki mask temple in scrolls and hade everything packed into smaller scrolls for transportation. He then Kamaji and Karin waiting for him at the eastern gate. During their time in the cabin, the three Uzumaki had grown closer together and had talked about their lives. Kamaji had even told them about how wonderful Uzushiogakure had been.

They waited there a few moments before he saw his friends and everyone else pour in for what was going to happen. He had long since talked to Sakura and the others. It made him sick what they thought of him. The only one of the Konoha 12 who didn't hate him, apart from his friends, was Lee. Lee didn't know what to think. He hated the Kyuubi but wasn't sure what to think of its warden.

Then the show started. As the clone was forced to go up to his execution point Naruto turned and went to wait at the eastern gate. When he got there he found Kamaji and Karin wearing traveling cloaks just like him. Each one had sealing scrolls strapped to the insides of their cloaks. They stood there waiting for a few minutes before noticing a small group headed towards them. Hinata and Shino were at the front of the group. They were the people Naruto had seen in the crowd. The group was Konohamaru and his team, Neji, Shino, and Hinata. He could trust so few. He would need to come back for Anko though.

When they got closer Neji was the first to speak up. "Who are you, and how did you know that would happen?"

"I can't tell you right now. Follow me. We're going to go up the road to an inn. Once we're there I will tell you. You can follow me or you can stay here." He said before turning ad walking away. The group quickly followed him. However, he only got a few yards outside the gate before turning around and placing his hand outward palm out. It looked like he was placing it against an invisible wall. The air was distorted momentarily before it stopped and looked like glass shattering.

"There, now let's keep moving," Naruto said before turning to keep going. He and the group didn't get far before seven shinobi landed in front of them, blocking their path.

"Are you the one who destroyed the barrier?" one of them asked. The fact that that was what the man had done when distorting the air shocked the group following him, apart from the two other Uzumaki he had been living with for the past few weeks. They had already known what he was going to do. The only thing they didn't know was what he was going to do once they had left Konoha.

"Unfortunately for you, yes I was," Naruto said before unsealing his sword. It took little time, and little resistance, before Naruto had dispatched them all. They were all either dead or bleeding out and about to die. Those that were dying he delivered a coup de grace by swiftly decapitating them. Naruto had simply caught them off guard and acted too quickly for them to act. He hated needing to kill, but he didn't have a choice. At least his anger at the village dulled the pain.

"Now, let's keep moving."

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ was currently sitting down in a chair with his friends in front of him. He quickly pulled off his hood and enjoyed every moment of their shocked expressions.

"I am Naruto Namikaze Uzumaki, son of the Yondaime. I was never imprisoned. They always had a clone in their possession. I have been planning for things like this for quite some time. I can't go into details, but I would like it if you could join me."

Konohamaru was the first to speak. "Wait, You're the son of the Yondaime?!" Naruto nodded. "Well, that answers all of my questions."

"So, what do you say?"

"You can guarantee that Shino and I will come with you," Hinata said. Shino nodded in agreement.

"Well, what about the rest of you?"

The rest of them shared a look. Neji spoke up. "I think it would be best if I stayed. I might hate everyone now, but if I can change some of their opinions of you that might work in your favor."

"I agree," Konohamaru spoke up. "As the Sandaime's grandson, I should also be able to influence some things. Not to mention Asuma. He and a few of the Sensei who was against what they did to you could help with making things easier."

"Yes, that might be. If it takes long enough for me to come back, you might become Hokage. Then I would have no need to destroy the place. Alright, I will be coming back for some people. Anko being one of them."

"Yeah, Ayame and her father wanted me to tell you something," Hinata said. "They w-wanted me to tell you that when you find a new place, for the time being, you should tell them so that they can take their business there."

"Neji, tell them 'thank you' for me. However, you all need to get back soon. This area will be crawling with whatever ANBU Tsunade didn't send towards Iwa like they think I'm going. I should also get going. My other traveling companions and I need to leave soon."

Neji spoke up. "Yes, who are they anyway?"

"They are part of the Uzumaki clan. The fact that my mother was from this clan is how I was able to remove the barrier. I had my clones working on a massive project not too long ago and Fuinjutsu." He told them how the Uzumaki clan was scattered and the other two travelings with him were part of it, just like him. He also told them about his mother and his father, the Kyuubi attack, as well as the Uzumaki clan's prowess in the art of Fuinjutsu. He had opted out of telling him what his mother and father had been able to compile at the last minutes of their lives. During the last few minutes of their lives, they had written a scroll telling him that someone claiming to be Madara Uchiha was behind the attack. He figured that leaving that out, for the time being, would be better.

As they started leaving Neji stopped. "Naruto, I hope that one day we can stand on the same side of the battlefield. When you come back, you can expect me to stand by your side." Naruto thanked him and bid him farewell. Naruto went to the back exit with Hinata and Shino following him. When they got there they found Karin and Kamaji waiting.

"Alright, we need to keep moving. This area will have ANBU all over it soon. I managed to through them off by telling them that I was headed to Iwa. It should take them quite a while to realize they were duped. Once it hits night we'll find an in and try to stay hidden as we keep moving." Naruto said. The others agreed without a second thought. Naruto was the one who came up with the plans. He had proven that already when he had managed to trick all of Konoha with only a few words.

* * *

 _ **Neji**_ and the others were headed back to Konoha when they ran into the ANBU. One of them with a rat mask spoke up. "What are doing here?"

Neji quickly came up with an excuse. "We saw some suspicious people leaving the village after making the air distort. We went to check it out because everyone else was busy with Naruto escaping. However, even with m byakugan, they managed to get away." The ANBU seamed skeptical but didn't see any reason for him to lie.

"Get back to the village and report. We're going to keep looking and try to find them." The rat mask said before they all took off.

* * *

 _ **Later**_ that night Naruto and his group were sitting in a room at an in. While Karin and Kamaji didn't need to do much to keep themselves hidden, Naruto knew that he, Shino, and Hinata needed to keep their identities concealed or there would be problems. While Naruto's hair was naturally spiky, it didn't take much effort to brush it into a straighter position with some of it sticking out at places. When that was done he had dyed his hair a dark red. He had figured that this fit him more. He had also used a small amount of makeup to cover his whisker like birth-marks. He was currently sticking to his black shirt, black pants, and traveling cloak. He had destroyed his hitai-ate during his month back in Konoha and had his traveling companions do the same to theirs.

While he had done this Hinata had dyed her hair white and used contacts they were able to buy when they were passing through the town they were staying in. the contacts left her with eyes that were now brown instead of her featureless white. However, it left her with a white pupil that gave her a different and exotic appearance. She had also added her own brown traveling cloak to her current attire.

Shino had the least change. He had opted to keep his gasses and traded his old jacket for a dark grey one that now went down to his knees, had a hood, and had long sleeves that left almost none of his hands uncovered. However, he decided to keep his hands in his pockets most of the time. His shirt was now black and came up to cover his nose and below, and came down almost to his ankles. What you could see of his pants were black and concealed all but his feet, which were concealed by his shoes. The less that people sew of him, the less they would recognize him.

Now that they had made sure it was almost impossible to be recognized they got ready to rest. They were going to be traveling most of tomorrow. Before going to sleep Naruto created a clone.

"Go tell them we're on our way. Give us a few more days and we'll be there." The Bunshin gave his salute before taking off. Naruto laid down and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 _ **They**_ had been traveling for the past few days and had little to no trouble. They had run into a few bandits but they were of little consequence. However, Naruto now had them where he wanted to be. They were now in a small village at the southernmost point of the Land of Hot Water. Naruto already knew where to meet with Tayuya since the Bunshin had discussed when and where to meet him. Some of the sound-nin was starting to become impatient but the sound four had kept them in line.

When the group got into the village they walked to a small stand where Tayuya was supposed to be waiting for them. They walked inside and saw her sitting there.

"It's about time you got here. What took you so long?" Tayuya said while standing up. She had nearly killed his clone when it had gotten there a few days ago. She had actually not seen who she was talking to back when she was imprisoned in Konoha. The clone had told her he would be coming with a few people that could be trusted.

"It took some time for me to get away from Konoha. Anyways, could you lead me to the rest of them?"

"Sure." She said walking back out the stand. The Sound-nin were too numerous to stay in the small village and had to set up a camp outside of it. It had taken the Naruto clone a while to find them.

Now it simply took them a few minutes of walking through the woods to get to the camp. Naruto was amazed at the number of sound-nin that had followed along. Tayuya quickly took him through the now gathering crowd to the center of the camp so that he could meet with the rest of the sound four. He could see the question in all of their eyes. Who are these people?

"Why are we surrounded by Sound-nin?" Hinata asked.

"I helped them get here. I'm hoping that this will give us some extra allies." Naruto responded in a whisper.

It took a few moments but Naruto wasn't disappointed to see the rest other three from Tayuya's elite team.

"They're here," was all Tayuya said.

"Are you telling me that we've been waiting here all this time for them?" Kidomaru asked.

Naruto decided that now was the time to get into the conversation. "Yes, my group and I are the ones you have been waiting on."

"Why is that?" Sakon asked.

"Because I'm the one who broke you out of that Konoha prison and saved you from the literal chopping block." This shut up everyone who could hear them. "Not to mention that a few sentences from me have most of their forces scrambling around like idiots. And I was able to bring down the sensory barrier around that village. These all lead me to the last reason. I'm here to offer you all new lives." Naruto said before standing on top of a rock and turning to address the shinobi in front of him.

"How do all of you like being out of those cells that Konoha had you staying in?" Naruto asked. His answer was a collection of small murmurs in the crowd. "I was the one who got you out of there, and now I'm here to offer you all a new home where you can still live as shinobi as you want to or as civilians if you wish. I intend on awakening the home of my clan so that I can correct a mistake made a long time ago." Kamaji's face turned to one of shock. This was why they were so close to the Land of Whirling Tides. Naruto intended to resurrect Uzushiogakure. "I, Naruto Namikaze Uzumaki, son of the Fourth Hokage and his wife Kushina Uzumaki, and the man about to rule Uzushiogakure, will create something new out of this world. However, I need people behind my cause to make it succeed. For helping you, all I ask is that you give me a chance."

"Why should we join you?" one of the random voices in the crowd asked.

"Well, you could go back to Orochimaru. But do you really think that he cares? He could have gotten you all out. In case you all forgot, he has a jutsu that allows him to merge into the ground. To him, you are nothing more than replaceable tools."

They knew it was true. They couldn't argue with the logic of it. "So I ask that you help me forge our own path, together. I ask that you stand beside me as we do this so that everyone else will follow."

Then Tayuya spoke up. She had her arms folded in front of her and looked smug. "I for one agree with the fool. Orochimaru left us behind. I say we give him a chance." Naruto turned to look at her, giving a smile.

"I agree," Jirobo said. "We were left behind."

With those two backing him it was only a matter of time as most of the group started to agree with him. In the end, he had the sound four on his side and all but a few sound jounin, and even fewer Chunin walked away. They had decided to leave. Some went back to Orochimaru, and others went to enjoy their freedom from all parties involved. Most of that second group just wanted to go to one of the faraway countries as far away from all this as they could. It was the ones that wanted to return to Orochimaru that Naruto had a problem with. They were the ones he was waiting for. While he told them that they could leave, he had never told them that if they left to rejoin Orochimaru they would never leave the forest alive. Naruto had clones waiting out of hearing range from the camp, waiting for any who wanted to go back to the Sannin. Naruto now had the numbers he needed to start putting things into action.

"Good. Now that you have all decided to give me a chance, let's get moving." It was still the middle of the day. "Make your way to the docks. I will have a ship waiting for us so that we can go to our new home." Before Naruto had left he had also cleaned out his family's accounts and used it to purchase The Land of Whirlpools' first ship.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ was currently standing on the bow of his new ship. The ship was painted black and had black sails. He had gotten it for a bargain. The legends said it was a ship with black sails that's crewed by the damned, and captained by a man so evil that Hell itself spat him back out. The ship was called the Black Pearl. Back to where Naruto was standing. He was currently standing on the bow of the ship with his hands placed against an invisible, yet quite solid, wall. This was the barrier of the Land of Whirling Tides.

"Kamaji, you're sure you can set it back up without killing everything on the island?"

"Yes, the wave of death spread out from one seal, while the barrier originated from another seal. However, they work on a system. If the killing wave activates so does the barrier. This works to keep out others once the wave is gone. On the other hand, the barrier can be activated without the killing wave going off."

"Good. Time to right an old wrong." Naruto said before his palms started to glow. The air rippled along the barrier before the entire dome appeared to shatter and disappear.

"You know, there was never an Uzukage because this village was never one of the main five villages. Now, it will become one of the most powerful places on earth. That is why I will become the first-ever Uzukage. The First Whirlpool Shadow. The Shodaime of a new and powerful place." Naruto said before dropping his traveling cloak in the water. He turned and bent down to pick up a folded, white, and a soft cloth. He quickly unfolded it and put it on to reveal a short-sleeved long white haori. On its back, in between the shoulders, was the Uzumaki clan Symbol with a red outline and black filling it in. Up the spine was the lettering for Shodaime Uzukage. Along the bottom were black flame-like motifs. Many of them there thought of the Yondaime Hokage as the new cloak billowed around him in the wind. Naruto was right. The world was about to change.

* * *

 _ **A**_ man was currently walking down a small road. The man was dressed completely in white. White pants, white shirt, white robe, and white cloth tied around his robe at the waist. He also had a sword that stuck out. The scabbard was black, the blade, pommel, simple disk guard, and handle were all black. The man seemed to be slightly tanned, with grey eyes, and green hair that fell both down the front of his shoulders and his back down to just above his waist. As he was walking he took notice of two figures up ahead. They seemed to be wearing the same outfit and one seemed to be trying to block out the other who was yelling. They were Kakazu and Hidan.

"Come on Kakazu! It's been so long since I killed someone!"

"You just did an hour ago," Kakazu responded in a bored tone.

"Well, let's find a place to stop so I can do it again I need- Wait, I can kill him," Hidan said, taking notice of the man walking towards them. When the man got closer Hidan took off to try and kill him. Having already heard Hidan's intentions because of his yelling he stopped. He calmly stretched his arm out away from him with his palm facing Hidan. He clenched his fingers so that it looked like he was trying to grab something. The moment Hidan got within five feet of the man there was instantly a large pillar of light. The pillar seemed to originate from the man and consumed Hidan.

Kakazu was forced to shield his eyes with his forearm. When everything cleared Hidan was gone and the man seemed unchanged aside from being slightly hunched over, sweating, and breathing as if he had just run for several days straight. Kakazu looked around but couldn't see his partner.

"What did you do to him?"

The man responded with a calm voice that sounded tired because of his heavy breathing. "I killed him."

"How? I've been trying to find a way to kill him ever since I met him. Nothing worked."

"Usually when you rip apart all of the atoms that make someone or something up, that object seems to cease existing."

"I've never heard of someone being able to do that." Kakazu saw the man was tired, but knew that anyone who could kill Hidan so easily should just be left alone.

"It is a Kekkei Genkai. It allows me to go in and change the atomic structure of something. It is difficult to focus and tires out its users rather quickly. Now, since you were trying to kill him, I trust you won't have any trouble letting be by?" The man said, regaining his breath and straightening himself.

Kakazu narrowed his eyes. He was going to get so much crap for this. He started walking moving to the side of the road to signify he wasn't going to bother him. The man also started walking. Before getting out of hearing range the man spoke.

"Kakazu, be warned. The world is about to change." The way he said it almost made Kakazu shiver.

When Kakazu got to his destination he simply activated the seal so that the boulder would move. When he got inside he took his place among the cloaked figures. They were all there. All accept the leader whose face had rarely been seen. He was represented by a hologram along with a female standing next to him.

"Where is Hidan?" The leader asked.

"He tried to kill a man who took three seconds to literally disintegrate him. It would appear that that can kill him." Kakazu responded.

"I see, it will be difficult to replace him. And now, to the business of the Kyuubi jinchuriki." Itachi was now paying rapt attention. He had heard something had happened but didn't know what it was yet. "It would appear his village tried to have him executed for holding the Kyuubi. However, he was able to trick them and get away. He managed to convince them he was heading west, but our spies have confirmed him heading east with four other people. When we start hunting the Jinchuriki again Itachi and Kisame will head east to find and capture him. Other than that our plans are unchanged. For the time being, you are dismissed." He said before fading away.

Itachi looked calm and stoic as usual. However, on the inside, he wanted to kill whoever was responsible for what happened to Naruto. He wanted some answers.

* * *

 _ **Sasuke**_ was finally starting to wake up. He realized he was in a hospital bed. He looked around and saw that the only other person in the room was Neji.

"Neji, what happened? How long have I been out?" he could tell that Naruto stopped him and now he wanted to know what had happened during his unconsciousness.

Neji's face hardened. "You were asleep for five weeks." This shocked the Uchiha. "As for what happened. Due to the fact that Naruto used so much of the Kyuubi chakra during the fight in order to stop you, he was set up to be executed. You missed it. His execution was a week ago."

Sasuke was yelling in his mind now. 'What?! That's not possible! He brought me back like he was supposed to! Wait, Kyuubi chakra?! He was a jinchuriki?! What the hell?! Wait, he was executed! I missed it! But Neji said it was because of what happened during our fight! If I had listened this wouldn't have happened! I killed him! My friend!' He could feel his head and eyes burning. He couldn't move. He couldn't release the breath he was holding. Then Neji spoke up again.

"I wondered how you would react to that. What I didn't tell you was that he escaped. He's long gone from the village now." Sasuke released the breath he was holding but could still feel the burning. When he got out of here he was going to talk with some people and the conversation was not going to be pleasant for the receivers of his anger.


	9. Chapter 09

_**Naruto**_ was walking over the rubble of his new home. He could not believe this had been done to his mother's home simply because of fear. It sickened him what people would do out of fear.

"Everyone," He said turning to the ex-Oto-nins, "I need you all to start getting together the bodies. Use uniforms to tell if they were Uzu or one of the attackers. Once that's done start moving some of the rubble. I want this country up and running in the next week." Naruto said before producing several hundred clones to help them. "We only just landed on the beach. This might only be an island but it's big enough to be called a nation in its own right. This means we have a lot of work to do and not a whole lot of time. You, sound four, come with me. There is something I want to check. You too Kamaji." It took a few moments for Naruto to have them in a spot farther from the group working on their new task. "Alright, I want you four to show me your curse seals," Naruto said with a blank look in his face. It took some convincing but they showed their necks so he could see the marks, or lack thereof.

"I thought so," Naruto said.

"What is it?" Tayuya asked.

"Your curse seals are gone."

"What the hell did you just say?!" Kidomaru nearly shouted.

"Kamaji, from everything I was able to find on the curse mark and show you, do you think that such a seal could simply disappear?"

"No."

"Then my suspicions were correct." He looked at the four. "I believe you four died."

* * *

 _ **Tsunade**_ was currently sitting at her desk. The past few days had been hell, and her winning lottery ticket said that her migraine was only going to get worse. The past few days had been listening to constant babbling about finding Naruto being their top priority.

'What do they think I have those ANBU out doing?! Buying souvenirs from Iwa?!' Tsunade thought to herself. First Naruto had gotten away, then they followed up on the barrier being gone, only to find the rest of the team dead. And then there was all the crap she got because of Naruto claiming Namikaze to be part of his name. It had taken a few hours to assure them it wasn't true.

Then she could feel it. The disturbance that meant her day was about to be shot out the window and down a ten-story fall. She braced herself for what she knew was not going to be an enlargement to her current headache, but a new one altogether. Instantly her door was taken off the hinges as it flew passed her head and out the window.

Where her door once stood, now stood Sasuke Uchiha. Make that a twenty-story fall. He quickly walked up to her desk and the look in his eyes said bloody murder. She had heard the Uchiha was awake, but she really didn't expect this. Then he opened his mouth.

"What did you do to Naruto?"

"We were getting rid of a-" She was cut off by Sasuke punching his fist on her desk.

"What gave you the right to try and execute him?!"

"He is the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. I simply tried to get rid of a threat."

"You only made him a threat! I found out what he contained from any number of people on the street on my way here! He did his job and could have been the most powerful Ninja ever to be under Konoha's command! Now, after all the times Konoha withstood destruction, Madara, the wars, Naruto will come back and from what I hear he will slaughter everyone here!"

"That is why the ANBU are out looking for him. Hopefully, we can take him down before-"

"Are you trying to be funny, or are you just stupid? You can guarantee that if Naruto isn't brought back alive, and treated like I am, I am going to use whatever influence I can to cause as much trouble as possible." Tsunade knew that would be a problem. She hated to admit it but most of the population would give the 'last Uchiha' their support.

"Fine, so long as he doesn't attack I will make sure that the ANBU know not to kill him. Now can you please leave? I already had Hiashi and Shibi in here trying to figure out where their clan heirs have disappeared to, so I'm stretched a little thin with searching for people, and I need to get the Inuzuka out there helping. So could you please leave?"

"You had better head my warning," Sasuke said before turning and leaving. Tsunade was now trying to get rid of her new headache when it only got worse. Shizune chose that exact moment to walk in with a three-foot-tall stack of paperwork. Once she set it down on her desk Shizune placed one more sheet of paper on top of the stack.

"What is that one?"

"A form to replace the door Sasuke just broke." This day just kept getting worse.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ was currently traveling with the sound four and Kamaji towards Uzushigakure. They had been traveling for a good hour and Naruto had opted to tell them his thoughts on their missing curse seals after they had reactivated the barrier. Kamaji being an Uzumaki was still able to travel at a rapid pace, despite his lack of traveling in the past few decades. It only took another hour before the hidden village came into sight. While it was only an island, it was large enough to not only be considered a nation but also have its own hidden village. Naruto had to say he was impressed.

The village may have been destroyed, but the structures still stood. If he had to guess, the village had fallen and someone activated the death seal before a whole lot of damage could be done to the village itself. The most outstanding part of the village was the tower in the center.

The tower was much like the tower of any hidden village. The difference was this one seemed more regal and powerful. It was a large, red and black tower with special windows meant for archers to aim bows or crossbows to take down invaders before they could get closer to the tower. The tower was meant for the civilians to take refuge in the underground bunkers during an attack, as well as their seat of power. However, they seemed to have activated the death seal while they could due to the overwhelming force that was converging on them.

Naruto quickly moved through the village so that he could get to the seals and activate the barrier. While they were moving he decided to ask Kamaji a question that had been bothering him.

"Kamaji, why didn't they activate the barrier before the invasion got so bad?"

"There were multiple reasons. The first is that the seals were still in the prototype phase to make sure they were stable and worked. The seals were used when the defenders knew that they were going to lose and must have decided to use them anyways. They must not have had anything to lose and everything to gain from it. Also, all over the island, there are small towers loaded with seals. Using these towers a pulse and a burst of light are sent up so that the message can be spread quickly that the Land of Whirlpools is under attack. However, another reason is that, from what I was able to learn from a survivor of the invasion, they had been smuggling in soldiers with the traders. When the attack came five separate armies converged and before they could react they took down the towers and stopped the message from spreading."

"The Uzumaki long ago set up the barrier for Konoha. Why didn't they here?"

"They did. However, most of the invading forces were already on the island. Before anyone could react, and before the main forces landed on the beaches, most of the island had already fallen. The battle was lost before it ever started."

"Well, when we get there I want you to dismantle the death seal for me."

"Why?"

"You said that it was a prototype. I don't want that thing going off while the people under my command are within the range of it."

The conversation went silent after that as they finally got to the tower. They quickly went inside before ascending towards the chamber where the leader would have stayed. With Kamaji it didn't take long to find.

When they got inside Naruto quickly took notice of two things. The first was the two pedestals on the left side of the room. One pedestal had the kanji for death carved into it. The other had the kanji for defense carved into it. Each of them had a sealing array on them.

The other thing Naruto took notice of was a skeleton, wearing the cloths of the Uzumaki elder, lying next to them. He was the one who had activated them.

"Naruto, let me take a look at them," Kamaji said, moving to take a look at the seals.

While Kamaji was looking at the seals the sound four were ready for their answers.

"Alright, spill it. What do you mean you think we died?" Kidomaru demanded. The others were not about to say it like that but were wanting to know the same thing. He waved them over to the desk before sitting down at it. He noticed how alike it was to the Hokage's office. It disturbed him. He was going to need to rearrange some things soon. This village had limited time to get things in order. He pulled himself back to the current conversation.

"I first had this idea back when I found Kimimaro's body. His curse mark was also gone." Naruto said before pulling out a scroll and unsealing it on his desk to reveal Kimimaro. "I've been keeping the body in a preservation scroll so it doesn't rot. From what I know, the seals that were on your necks wear meant to use sage chakra. Orochimaru's own body couldn't handle the stress of sage mode. He performed some tests on a member of a clan who used nature chakra without needing to train to do it."

"Jugo." Tayuya interrupted. "The person you're talking about is called Jugo." Naruto nodded before continuing.

"During his experiments, he came up with the curse mark. It allows you to trade your own chakra for Orochimaru's sage chakra. However, the seals also sped up healing, much like when Orochimaru loses a limb and snakes re-connect it or heal it at a rapid rate. My guess is that he added something so that it would keep you all alive. He must have valued the results it would yield in his tests. The point is that I think it burnt itself out trying to keep you all alive. If you were dying then the seal might have kicked into overdrive and probably exhausted itself. It burnt out. I don't think it was supposed to though, an unintended feature in the healing aspect of it. You four all died. The seal exhausted itself to regenerate enough to keep you alive. You don't know how you got into your cells because you were completely out of it."

The four were silent until Jirobo asked what they were thinking. "Then why is Kimimaro dead? His seal was more powerful than ours was."

"Because no matter how much the seal might have healed him, the disease eating away at him from the inside was killing him. The seal ran out and he still died because it killed him so much faster than the seal could heal."

Before they could ask another question Kamaji spoke up. "Alright, I managed to disengage the death seal and the barrier is ready to be activated."

"Good, activate it," Naruto said before turning to look out the window. He could see the barrier start to ripple out across the sky before becoming invisible. "Now, let's get to setting this place back up," Naruto said before pulling out a scroll and setting it on his new desk and then making a few shadow clones. "You know what to do. Now let's get to work."

* * *

 _ **Sasuke**_ was currently standing in front of the Hokage. "What do you mean they can't find him?"

"The Inazuka were able to pick up a trail heading east, but it went cold before we could get anywhere."

"East-" One of the ANBU tried to speak up.

"I know." Tsunade interrupted.

"What do you mean east?" Sasuke asked.

"The day that Naruto's clone left the barrier team reported less than twenty minutes later that someone at the eastern gate brought down the barrier."

"How is that possible?"

"We don't know. What we do know is that very few people know about it being down, so very few people know that we are vulnerable. Let's just hope it stays that way.

* * *

 _ **Things**_ in Uzu had been going well. Naruto had several dozen clones in every direction rebuilding what little they could, not to mention all the oto-nin also working to rebuild. They had managed to set up in the hidden village and start working out from there, managing to set up housing and other things that would be necessary. Naruto had also had some of the clones start working on crops with the seeds he had brought in his scrolls. They really were the most useful things. Now here they were a week-and-a-half later.

Naruto was currently standing in his office with Kamaji, the sound four, Hinata, and Shino. He was about to do something he had already promised he would do.

"Kamaji, is there any way to open a small and temporary opening in the barrier, or at least make the barrier seal portable, yet still keep the barrier in the same place? I don't want to bring down the entire barrier just for a few people to leave."

"Give me a couple of days and I believe I could alter it enough that I would be able to synchronize with one single node between the main seal and a potable seal so that you can open a small pathway through it, bring it down entirely, or bring it up if it's down."

"Thank you. If you could start working on that now I would appreciate it." Naruto said before looking at the others. "You six are coming with me when he's done. We're going to Wave country."

Sakon spoke up. "What about the others? They might go out of control without us here."

"My clones will keep them company. Besides, when I was in Konoha I had the clones working on a project. A little longer and it will be complete. Here soon, the world will know that Uzushiogakure is back on the rise and that the coming storm is going to raze everything in its path."

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ was currently sitting in his home. He had wondered where to put it and discovered the perfect place for his home to be placed. He had placed it in a small clearing behind the newly dubbed Uzukage tower.

He was sitting in his library with several dozen clones working behind him. He sat there with his eyes closed before opening them and finding himself in front of a giant cage with and equally large fox.

"It has been a while."

" **That it has. I wondered when you would be back."**

"You know what's about to happen. From the research, I was able to do you know why I need some of your chakras."

" **Yes, the Mizukage and his own tenant."**

"Will I be able to count on you during this?"

" **Why should I help you? I simply helped you back in Konoha to see what you would do."**

"I'm going there whether you help me or not. If you let me die, your death is your own fault. So, is self-preservation a good enough reason for you?"

The large fox grumbled at his host. **"You are beginning to tax my patience."**

"And your grumpy refusal to help me simply because of your own pathetic anger is starting to tax mine." Naruto snapped back. "One day I really am going to have to help you get rid of it."

" **Hmmm...Fine. Do with it as you wish. It's not like your giving me any choice in the matter."**

"You really are funny sometimes. You always have a choice." The fox looked at him questioningly. "You could sit there and die with me."

" **No. If you die I can't watch Konoha be destroyed."**

"Believe what you wish. By the way, what is your name?"

" **What do you mean?"**

The chibi is also known as Shukaku. Certainly, he's not the only one with a name.

" **You really are insufferable. Fine, my real name is Kurama."**

"Well Kurama, one day I really am going to do something about your anger issues," Naruto said before disappearing.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ was standing in the library of the main tower in Uzushio. In front of him was a large scroll with flame motifs and metal flames on the ends. He opened it to show hundreds of signatures and fingerprints in blood. it was a summoning contract. A contract that had only ever been signed by Uzumaki. He wasted no time and quickly signed the contract before preforming a summoning jutsu. He was not expecting to pop into existence in such a strange place. He was standing on a platform that was part of a bridge. On either end of this bridge were caves. Before he could try to figure out where he was he heard a low, almost ancient-sounding voice.

"Do you know what sets this summoning contract apart from any other?" it asked. Naruto shook his head no. "Our contract is not simply valid based on whether or not you signed a piece of paper. It is based on whether or not we find you worthy. Why are you here?"

"To make the home that once belonged to my clan powerful once again, and to gain the power needed to do what I must."

"And what must you do, young Uzumaki?"

"Protect my friends, to protect my new home, to fulfill my promise to Zabuza and end the war in Mizu no Kuni, and to destroy Konoha. I know that later there will be other things I must do, and be prepared for, and when the time comes I want to have what I need to do them."

"Hmmm...And what would you do if you were refused here?"

"I would try to find another way."

"Another way to gain power?"

"Another way to do the things I need to do. If power is needed to do them, then so be it."

"And what if power corrupts you, like it has so many others?"

"I honestly don't know. I will fight it. I will try to make sure it doesn't happen. If it does, then I hope I die doing what I know is right. I hope that I die a hero before I live to see myself become the villain."

His only response was for the ground to start shaking. Before he could reach a large figure flew from one of the caves and surrounded Naruto before a blinding light engulfed him. When he opened his eyes he was back in the library, the word worthy echoing in his mind.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ and his team were currently walking in Wave, walking towards Tazuna's home. For now the sound four were wearing traveling cloaks to keep from them being seen, though Naruto had his Uzukage robe sealed for now. Naruto had used the few days before they had left in order to get to know his new generals. When learning about their abilities, and how they had come to be Orochimaru's pawns, he had quickly realized that they would be some of the names known to his village.

Jirobo and Tayuya had similar stories. They were taken from their families at such a young age that they couldn't remember their relatives. Over the years they had grown to like their new home.

The other members told him that while they had clans, they no longer remembered them. Kidomaru had been forced to sign the spider contract of his clan the moment he could write. He also told that he had been born with his spider-like features and abilities, and believed them to be clan traits.

Sakon and Ukon had stated that their own clan had taught by merging with other members and building muscle memory. Granted they still needed to build the muscle on their own to use said memory. Apparently they could not merge with other people without the enhancements brought on by the curse seal. Due to their defeat, the two brothers were traveling separately so that Ukon could become stronger and help his brother even more in battle.

Hinata and Shino had also become his own private team. Much like the three Sannin who fought Hanzo the Salamander, they would become the three who lead the charge on the day Konoha fell. They had even taken a moment to develop a strategy that Naruto believed would guarantee them victory in any small fight.

However, Naruto cleared his musings from his mind as he knocked on Tazuna's door. He was almost shocked to see Zabuza open the door without the bandages covering his face. Naruto thought that him wearing civilian clothing was the most shocking thing.

Then he spoke. "Yeah, what is it?" He asked, taking in Naruto's clothes and face.

"You don't remember me Zabuza? I'm hurt." Naruto said with mock sadness. "I told you I would contact you soon."

Then Zabuza widened his eyes a little. "Naruto? What happened to your hair? You came by a few weeks ago with that clone and you were still a blonde."

Naruto chuckled. "Well, from what I can tell you didn't panic. Good, that means you know when what I'm saying should be taken seriously. Now, are you going to let us in?"

Zabuza quickly moved to let them all in. The other residents of the house took a moment and some reminding, but quickly recognized Naruto. Naruto and his group, along with Zabuza, sat down once the hellos were done. Naruto looked around to see Tazuna, Zabuza, Haku, Tsunami, and Inari.

"Good. You can remove your hoods now." The Uzu four quickly complied and pulled them back. Naruto quickly went through the introductions. "Now, I'm sure you would like to know why I told you not to cut ties with Konoha and raise trouble." His response was a series of nodding. "Well, the answer is simple. They don't need you. This makes cutting ties with them pointless."

"What do you mean?" Tazuna asked.

"Konoha was doing fine before you. You, however, are still getting this place back up to speed. I want you to keep working with them until it becomes one of their everyday things. I want them dependent on you. Then, when the time comes to strike, you simply break all ties with them. No more supplies, no more communication, nothing. That way they don't have time to recover from the loss before I strike."

Zabuza nodded. "That is a good plan. But I have to ask, what are your plans for now?"

"My main reason for coming here was to get you Zabuza. I am about to go handle the problem in Mizu No Kuni." Zabuza looked shocked.

"With you being on the run from Konoha, how do you intend to do that?"

"Simple. I intend on making the enemy to shocked to react before I have them by the balls." Naruto said in a confident tone.

* * *

 _ **The**_ man was currently walking down an ally with his hood down. He had dark brown, almost black, hair that stretched down just past his shoulders and was slightly curly. He also had brown eyes. His skin was tan and he had a look of apathy on his face. His head was all you could see with the rest of him concealed under his dark, black, and tattered cloak.

His face changed to one of disgust as he looked to his right. It was not disgust at what he saw, but towards the fact that such things happened in this world. It truly needed to be changed. He stopped and looked. There was a woman sitting there. She was bruised, naked, cold, raped, and left to die. He removed his cloak to reveal his equally black clothing before moving towards her. He put his cloak over her shoulders before sitting next to her.

Then he spoke. "This world... truly is terrible, isn't it? People kill, torture, rape, pillage, and destroy like it's nothing more than a game. It truly disgusts me how people simply don't care. My family was slaughtered by people who did it because they could. I was only a child. Anyone I asked for help simply turned away. A few people gave me looks of pity or the spare change in their pockets. But then I realized something. There are so few good people in this world that I truly was lucky. A woman with straight, black, and short hair that nearly touched her shoulders and with glasses came up to me. I will never forget her, what she did, or the fact that she never told me her real name; I simply called her Natalia Kaminski. I don't know why. She took me, clothed me, fed me, and most importantly, trained me. She taught me that unless you try to change the world nothing will ever happen. So I took her training and found the people responsible for the death of my family. I killed them all, all but the leader. He didn't even recognize me. When I was about to kill him he begged me for his life, asked why I was doing it. I told him the same thing he told me back then. 'Because I can.' And then I killed him." The woman looked at him shakily. He looked her in the eye. "So, would you like to stay here, or would you like to come with me?"

* * *

 _ **Later**_ that day the man had his generals in a long meeting room. He had made sure that the woman was given some clothes and a place to stay. He currently had another, yet exactly the same, cloak on with the hood up covering his features. Giza and Meizu were in there armor and ready to move.

Among them was Angela. She was a slender woman who wore dark blue pants with small armor platelets on her thighs, a shirt the same color resting underneath a black metal breastplate that sported several serrated edges, as well as small spikes on the shoulders to make close combat more dangerous. She had a broad sword strapped to her back that was four feet long, less than a quarter of an inch thick, and a foot wide. It was meant for using its size to add momentum to her already powerful swing so that it could easily cut enemies in half. Her eyes were purple with spots of red floating in the iris. Her hair was a notable feature as it was a dark green and fell down her back and the front of her shoulders. He had found her in a similar situation to the one he had been in. Raiders had attacked their family while they were traveling and she was the only survivor. He slaughtered the raiders and took Angela with him.

The other generals were also ready for what was about to happen. "Greetings friends; the time has come to change everything. Pack what you need and get everyone ready. We're going to Mizu No Kunai."

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ was currently walking through the forest and looking for the location he had found on a map. Then he found it he pulled a scroll out of his cloak and unraveled it. The kanji in the center said, people. He had a brilliant idea and had tried it on shadow clones before convincing Zabuza to be his guinea pig. He quickly activated the seal before he was surrounded by fifty-eight people wearing Uzu hitai-ates. Eight of these were his two friends, the new Uzu four, and Zabuza with Haku. Naruto had talked to the last two and it would seem that Zabuza had over time come to except Haku as a son-like figure in his life, never having had a family himself.

Everyone in the group looked like they would be ill at any moment. "Alright, we'll rest here for now before heading out. Be ready to move in a couple of hours." Naruto could feel it. The power of Uzushiogakure was on the rise. After this, they would gain allies.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ was standing across the road and watching as some Kiri-nin attacked a man claiming he had a Kekkei Genkai. The man could hardly stand. Several areas had been suffering from poverty, and therefor starvation, sue to the war. As one of the shinobi went to punch the man Naruto was instantly there and grabbed the Kiri-nin's wrist.

"That is quite enough," Naruto said. During his rush over to stop what was going on, he had put on his haori.

The mist ninja looked at him like he was insane. "You have a death wish kid?"

"Only for your death," Naruto said before giving a signal. Instantly the entire team of Kiri-nin was dead, aside from the one Naruto still had by the arm. The man was now shaking. He was just a chunin and had the blade of Zabuza Momochi at his neck. Naruto smirked. "Go spread the word. I don't care who you spread it to, just get it done."

"What word?"

"Tell them... Tell them that the Uzukage is here." Naruto said before letting go of the man's wrist and watching as he scrambled to get away as fast as he could. This was going to be the first step. Naruto didn't have enough power to confront the Mizukage and his forces. He needed to get into contact with the rebel forces here. That required making a scene and hoping that he was able to find this Mei Terumi before the Mizukage acted as if he was a real threat.

* * *

 _ **Mei**_ was sitting in a tent reading a report she had just been brought. "You're sure this is reliable?"

"Yes, the man came stumbling into the pub yelling about the Uzukage and Zabuza. And then there was the report of the destroyed outpost. Not even twenty people were stationed there but it was ripped apart. One survivor was left mumbling the same thing about the Uzukage."

"I see. I want someone out there trying to make contact with this Uzukage character."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"He attacked small groups. If he could he would have attacked larger and more important places. He doesn't have much power, but that's why he's making a scene. He wants to attract our attention so that we can join up with him. I want you to take a few teams and send them out now. We might need this Uzukage before long. That, and he is traveling with Zabuza. We can use the added muscle." The solder nodded before disappearing to get his orders completed.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ was heading as fast as he could towards the coordinates giving the location of the rebel camp. He had been contacted not too long ago but his scouts had reported a problem. The camp was under attack. From what they could gather, the Mizukage's forces had captured a team and tortured the location out of them. Then it came into sight. The camp was in chaos. He didn't hesitate to give the orders.

"Kill every one under the Mizukage and kill them. Bring me a survivor I want information and to send a message." Quickly his fifty shinobi fanned out. The Uzu-four took on their own segment of the battlefield. They no longer had their seals, but that didn't mean they weren't still effective. Zabuza and Haku also tore through the Mizukage's troops. Naruto and his own team lead the charge with Shino sending in a tidal wave of his insects. Once they were in he also got close to deliver some brutal taijutsu blows to the distracted enemies. Hinata was moving from enemy to enemy, disabling their arms or legs as she went. Naruto rushed in with twenty clones all wielding their swords. The real one had his sword in his right hand and charged a Rasengan in his left.

He charged in and shoved his Rasengan through someone before pushing his sword through the created hole to impale another through the already dead solder. Instantly he retracted and bent backward to avoid a blade aiming for his head. He dispatched his attacker before charging in to injure any enemy he could. He quickly amputated limbs and in some cases delivered coup de grass. Then he saw the person that he was here for. The person these rebels were rallying behind.

Mei had been having a rough time. Her Kekkei Genkai giving her an advantage. However, a lucky kunai had cut her arm as she was about to finish off an enemy shinobi, causing her to leave an opening for him to kick her away before raising his sword to finish her off. He never got the chance as just above his left shoulder down to his right second rib were severed from the rest of him. Where that man once stood, now stood Naruto with his robe flapping in the wind.

She quickly got up and got ready to fight. "You're the Uzukage?"

"And you are Mei Terumi. We can deal with introductions later." Naruto said before bringing his sword across the chest of an enemy who had been foolish enough to simply charge right in with only a kunai. With Naruto's forces catching the Mizukage's own by surprise the battle didn't last much longer. Mei turned to get some answers from Naruto before he told her to wait a moment. His team, Zabuza, Haku, and the Uzu-four quickly converged on his location before a few of his shinobi brought a struggling and captured Kiri-nin in front of him.

"Sir, we were able to capture three others in case this one doesn't cooperate." They pointed towards the other three close by.

Naruto nodded. "You will go out and deliver a message to anyone who will listen. That includes your Mizukage. Tell him that the Uzukage is here and tell anyone and everyone what happened here."

"Never."

Naruto put a kunai at the man's thought. "Hurry up, I only need one of you and there are three others waiting." The man spits at Naruto. Naruto wiped it off before waving his hand. They took him away before they could hear the man start screaming. He could see the other three cringe when the screams abruptly stopped with the sound of bones breaking.

He waved his hand again and they brought the next one. "Now, you will-"

"Tell everyone I can about what happened here today. Got it." The man quickly got out before Naruto could finish.

"Good. Take him to the edge of the camp and make sure he goes." They nodded. "And you two?" He asked looking at the other two. They immediately started nodding their heads rapidly. He loved getting results. "Take them out to the edge and do the same." He said before turning to look at Mei. It took a few moments but she put her shock behind her.

"Wait, you're letting them go?"

"I want the Mizukage afraid of me. I want his forces afraid of me. It's about time I started making my enemies fear me. Also, do you think my own shinobi could be taken care of while you and I have a chat?"

She waved some men over and told them to find some things for the Uzukage's forces before leading him and his group to a tent. Along the way, they picked up two people. They were two of Mei's personal bodyguards, Ao and Chojuro. They had been separated during the attack.

Naruto, Mei, and their respective groups wear now sitting at a table in a tent.

"So you are this Uzukage I've been hearing about?" Naruto nodded. "I expected someone-"

"Older?"

"Taller," Mei said. "So now what?"

"Well, considering that we both want to take down Yagura, I would say we should work together."

"And what stake do you have in this, and who are you?"

"I already told Zabuza and Haku that I would come here and help end the war."

"Is that it? You told someone you would and have no other reason?" Mei asked, wondering if he was insane.

"I have other reasons. Zabuza, you said you wanted some answers. Here are a few of them. As to my reasons, I know that Yagura is a jinchuriki. I want to know if I can bring him out of whatever madness has consumed him."

"Ao has already confirmed he is under a genjutsu, this means there is someone more dangerous we need to worry about. But, you want to help him?"

Naruto smiled. "Only to get out of the darkness. I hope that doing so will gain me another ally. I already have the jinchuriki of the one tails as my friend. It took a little convincing to show him a better path. Hopefully, I can gain all of the jinchuriki as allies."

"Why on earth would you want to do that?" Ao spoke up.

"The answer is very simple. I myself am the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi." Instantly the only people in the tent who weren't tense were Hinata and Shino. They were wondering what was going to happen now. Mei was the first to speak again.

"So, you still haven't answered the question of who you are."

"That's right. My name is Naruto Namikaze Uzumaki, the Shodaime Uzukage, leader of the Land of Whirling Tides, jinchuriki of the Kyuubi, and son of the Yondaime Hokage." Everyone was speechless. Then Mei burst out in laughter.

"The Yondaime didn't have a son, and Uzushiogakure is behind a barrier. I can assume that the Yondaime died sealing the Kyuubi into you-"

"And what better person to seal it into than your newborn son? As for Uzu no Kuni, an Uzumaki put it up. What better way for it to come down than by the hands of an Uzumaki." She could tell he was being completely serious. "So, would you like to get to work on ending this war?"

Mei smiled. Neither she nor anyone else in that tent apart from Naruto and his first two friends could have guessed who would be helping end this war.


	10. Chapter 10

_**"Now,**_ for the time being, I would like it if you would keep my identity among the few of us here."

"Why is that, and why trust us with your identity if you want it to stay hidden?" Mei asked.

"The answer is simple. I'm trusting you because I need you to trust me. And I want you to keep my identity secret because if it was known I have no doubt that Konoha would cause problems. Not only that, but while Uzu has the barrier, it's still weak, and my allies aren't up to the strength required to fight a war."

"War?"

"Yes, I intend to destroy Konoha because of the fact that they betrayed me. They tried to have me executed."

"Why?" Ao asked. "I know that the jinchuriki are hated, but they are also seen as a village's greatest weapons. To be honest, I myself am a little hesitant to be in the same vicinity as you."

"Because they were fools who focused more on revenge than what truly mattered. In the end, it will bring about their destruction. As for keeping my identity secret, if it were found out that I was in Uzushio they wouldn't hesitate to come for their weapon once it was confirmed that I somehow was there. Kumo and Iwa would most likely come for the head of the Yondaime's son. Konoha...from what I have been able to gather they are going to try to take me back or kill me if necessary. This poses a problem because of another reason. If people found out that Uzu is back on the rise they would try to stop it before it starts. The barrier is the ultimate shield, but it doesn't matter because we have no way to retaliate. In the end, it will turn into a waiting game. My home doesn't have the resources to wait out the elemental nations for long. Eventually, we would need resources and trade to survive. We can't do that while being cut off from the rest of the world."

Ao nodded. Naruto was young but clearly understood when it was better to stay out of sight, even if that meant holding off on his revenge against the people who betrayed him.

Then Naruto spoke up again. "Along with stopping this massacre and fulfilling a promise, I am also here to gain support."

"Support?" Mei asked.

Naruto sighed. "If I want to change, or do, anything I will need to make Uzu grow into a military and economical powerhouse. However, before it can even get close to that point the barrier will need to come down so that commerce can thrive. That will be the only way to support the population needed to make Uzu strong again. Along with Suna, Yagura, and the Ichibi's host Garra, I hope to gain all of Mizu as an ally. Before you ask questions let me explain."

"Currently the situation in Suna is less than favorable for anyone. To help stabilize things Garra's mentor is taking up the position of acting Kazekage. I estimate that here soon he will be officially instated so as to keep all of Kaze no Kuni from being thrown into chaos. However, they are still weak and dependent on Konoha for aid in their recovery. I will not have them break ties with Konoha yet because they need Konoha a lot more than Konoha needs them. Breaking ties will only cause trouble that Suna can't handle rights now."

"Then there is the land of snow. Once I'm done in Mizu I will be heading back to Uzu to remove the barrier for a short time. They have decided to break ties with Konoha because they can more than handle themselves for the time being. They have also agreed to two things. The first is that they will not take action against Konoha until I give the word. The second is that they will send me much-needed numbers. Both civilians for helping to build economic growth and to help rebuild, as well as samurai and a few of what little shinobi they have to help in defense if it is ever needed and to send out to build revenue for the village. Though some of them are less than happy about the impending move, even if I have told them that I will try to accommodate them as much as I can. The only problem is that soon I will be limited to the amount of time I can spend outside of the barrier unless I have someone else manage the barrier for me. Although I believe I know the perfect person."

"Now on to the allies I can gain from here. The most important ally in Mizu right now, is you, Mei Terumi."

"Me? What do you mean by that?"

"Your power and resilience make you respected, even among some of the Mizukage's forces if not the Mizukage himself. Not only that, but you are also the leader of the strongest resistance group there is right now. This leads me to the conclusion that when this is all over you will be named the new Mizukage. A new daimyo will probably be named, but only to help maintain stability. You will hold most of the power. However, the main problem will be that this country is still in disarray. It will take a long time for it to recover to a point that it can defend itself."

"So when we finally rebuild, you will call on us to help fight Konoha?"

"If that is how you wish to see it. Though I would like for our nations to be allies regardless."

She sat there thinking for a few moments. "Alright, as long as we can count on some of your support as well, when this war is over I will make our alliance official."

"No, as I said before neither of our countries is suited for defending against anything right now. We should keep our alliance between nations a secret among only the people who need to know about it. Even then it won't stay quiet for as long as we want. Jiraiya will eventually find out with his spy network. Not to mention other problems that I won't go into at this point in time. So, for now, I would like it if we can keep this between us until it no longer matters"

Mei nodded before standing up and holding out her hand. "Well then, to a new alliance that no one can know about for the foreseeable future."

Naruto stood up and gripped her forearm while she gripped his. "Agreed." He said as they stood there, gripping each other's forearms in a symbol of their newly formed pact.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ was currently laying down on the cot in his tent. His Uzukage robe was folded next to the bed. He was now only in his black shirt and pants. He had been thinking for a while now.

'At this point, I'm only fourteen, but even I can see that I was lucky to have gotten this far. My escape from Konoha was luck. I had no idea that the clone would be maintained for so long. It was only experimental because I knew I needed to speed things along.. Then there was the battle earlier today in the camp. I thought I was going to die a few times there, yet I kept a calm face so that I could seem strong and indestructible. They could not be allowed to see that I was afraid of what could happen. Even the greatest in history could die because of a lucky kunai. So what does that mean for me? I'm stronger than most my age due to the training I had my Bunshin undergo for me, but that doesn't mean I'm any more likely to survive.' Then he closed his eyes.

When he opened them again he was once again standing in the flooded basement, looking at the fox in a cage.

**"What are you here for now?"**

"I have a question for you Kurama."

 **"Of course you do."** He responded sarcastically. **"What is it?"**

**"I was wondering about something I found when looking through a library, and something else that has been bugging me. Letting you out and using your forms."**

The giant fox raised his right eyebrow to show that Naruto had his attention and curiosity.

"From books and reports that I was able to read and find, Garra was not the first to unleash the power of his tenant. The two jinchuriki in Kumo are famous for not only unleashing them but being able to control and bottle back up the power at will. They can also switch out so that the beasts themselves take over. Then there was Garra, who unleashed his every time he slept because he was no longer holding it back. That is until I reinforced his seal what little I could. I was lucky to make it as strong as I did. I want to know about being able to use your power so that I can have an edge. I have little doubt about two things. One is that Yagura can unleash his at least to some extent. The other thing is that the person controlling him is most likely the person who controlled you fourteen years ago. If I can't use your power against something like that....." He left the rest hanging because it was obvious what he was saying.

After a long pause, Kurama reached forward and grabbed the bars with his hands and spoke up again. **"You're right, such a thing could lead to your, and by extension my, death. However, while I have been able to send you chakra, you cannot use the forms that come with it without one or more of two things. The first is the anger that has sent you into the three-tailed state in the past. The second is control. Were you to unleash more than three tails without enough control it would overwhelm your mind. This would turn you into a monster with no restraint. These people from Kumo have achieved a level of control over the Biju chakra that came from years of work to maintain. Granted you could probably achieve it in record time with the multi shadow clones."**

"And how would I learn to gain that control?"

**"You would need to practice controlling your own mind while unleashing vast amounts of it. Granted, the full details are a lot more complicated than that. At this point, you would be able to access the first three tails at the cost of being extremely angry and losing some of your self-control. It loosens the seal and allows me some influence over it. Granted, the same result could come from great amounts of stress."**

"Is there any way to force it?"

**"Not without removing the seal. You aren't ready to do that yet without me taking control. I might be coopering with you now, but only for the interest of my own survival. Remove that seal before you're ready and I will not hesitate to consume you. However, if you are correct and the person controlling him is the same person from all those years ago you will need all the help you can get. He is not Madara. Madara knew he was too strong to be stopped and would not have hidden behind a mask. Not only that, but while that man's chakra felt extensively similar, it was not the same.** **That is why I will provide you with what I can from behind these bars. Granted, I do believe that when the fight starts it will provide enough stress that I can force enough chakra into your system like I normally do when you're angry. It should push you to or near the first tail state. For now, you will have to stick with your current arsenal and training you got from the Bunshin. At least you still get the affinity advantage because of me."**

"Yes, because of you being with me for so long I gain your own natural affinities. Wind and Fire. Adds to my own affinities for earth, water, and lightning. That makes things easier for me to gain an advantage, but all the jinchuriki get that. first gets sand and the strange sealing ability, second gets the insane ability for fire, third gets something similar for water, four gets lava which suggests earth and fire, fifth gets steam suggesting water and fire, sixth gets acid, seventh gets an insane ability for wind as well as the ability to manifest chakra wings to glide, hover, and low flying for short periods, eight gets ink, water, and the ability to manifest tentacles for combat, and then you provide with insane fire and wind abilities that match up quite nicely. While I will have certain advantages, there are certain disadvantages I will need to keep an eye on. One of which is a lack of experience. However, all things considered, Thank you." Naruto said before turning as if to leave. He didn't miss the fox's surprise at being thanked. Then Naruto stopped. "Mind if I ask where all of your hatred for Humanity came from?"

Kurama hesitated for a moment. **"Perhaps some other time."** Naruto was about to leave before the fox spoke again. **"Perhaps you could tell me what you intend to do with the masks you created."**

Naruto turned his head to show half of his face bearing a psychotic expression. "Perhaps some other time," Naruto said before looking and a giant glass case. Inside of it were several Narutos sitting on shelves with their eyes closed. He gave a small chuckle. "Some other time indeed." He said before disappearing.

When he opened his eyes again he was laying on his cot. While in his mind he left with a psychotic expression, his real face was stoic. He laid there for an hour before he finally decided to drift off to sleep.

* * *

 _ **The**_ man was currently walking down the hall of the Sothern Kirigakure assault base. The base was simple with white paneling, walls, and doors. The lights were simple tube lights the fit into the ceiling to provide the lighting required. It was one of the four set up to allow a four-pronged attack on Kiri all at once with their combined military strength.

They were already in their special armor. The seals on the armor allowed it to take all kinds of damage and gave the user abilities they didn't originally have.

As he walked down the hall and finally opened the door to the meeting room, he saw the two people he was there to see. The first was their benefactor that now led most of their joint operations. He was sitting down at the end of the table with Gozu, Meizu, and Angela standing behind him. The other was the leader of his own organization.

He stopped in front of the table while the man at the end of the table finished reading a report. When he set it down he looked at the rest of them for a few moments before speaking in his authoritative voice.

"So this Uzukage seems to want to end the war as we do. Are all of our units ready to move on Kiri?"

"Yes, we have the signals set up so that we can all move at one time." the newcomer said.

"Good. Make sure they stay ready until I give the order. I want to wait to make a move until this Uzukage character makes a move of his own. As it turns out he finally made contact with one of the main resistance movements."

"How can you tell?" the other leader asked.

"At first reports showed that he was behind small attacks on small groups. As of yesterday, he was behind an attack on one of the Mizukage's strongholds that are in charge of large areas. Get a message to the rest of the bases and tell them to wait for orders. I want to see what he will do.

* * *

 _ **Anko**_ was sitting in her favorite dango restaurant. It was small with dim lamps to provide with just enough light for someone to relax and read without straining themselves. It was nice and calming to just sit and eat or read. Its small size kept there from being a loud crowd to disrupt the atmosphere.

Anko had been sitting here recently since she got back from her mission. When she returned and found out that Naruto was gone she was both relieved that Naruto had gotten away, but also upset because even the Inuzuka clan had no success with finding Naruto. She had talked to Neji about everything that had transpired when Naruto ad left, bet even he hadn't been told Naruto's destination. So far they were all waiting for word from him. They were all waiting to see what he would do. All she knew was that all she could do now was wait.

She took a bite from her dango before she saw someone sit down in front of her. She looked up to see that it was Sasuke. She didn't hate him because she knew that eventually, they would have taken Naruto down for using the Kyuubi at some point. However, part of her held it against him because it was him running away that caused Naruto to use the Kyuubi at that moment instead of later on. Part of her felt that a part of the blame rested on his shoulders. That was why she chose to try and ignore him at this moment.

She sat there munching on her dango for another ten minutes before she realized that Sasuke wasn't about to leave. That whole time he just sat there and looked at her like he was waiting for an answer.

"What do you want?" Anko asked.

"I want to know where Naruto is."

"And you think I know where he went?"

"You were often with him and his other two friends, Hinata and Shino. There isn't a single person in this village that doesn't know you have a sadistic streak. You're famous for your skills in the interrogation unit. You use your snakes to get to anyone afraid of them, and you use genjutsu and torture methods to bend their perception of reality until they wind up at the brink of insanity, some even begging for death. It's how you get information from them within record times. While he is head of the division, even Ibiki doesn't get results like you do. Meaning you had to be close to Naruto and the others if you would actually be near them in friendly circumstances. You have to know because even I can tell that you were one of the few in this village that Naruto trusted."

"You're right. I was one of the few he trusted, but that doesn't seem to make much of a difference now. You read the reports. His original dream was to be acknowledged by the village. To change the way they saw him. But now I fear that this betrayal has changed his dream to one where he slaughters everyone who stands in his way." She smiled. "No, that isn't the way he is. However," she said, her smile fading, "I have no doubt that he was telling the truth when he said that he will destroy this village and everyone in its walls. When he gains the strength needed to return he will make good on his word. He will bring down this village for their crimes. I just hope he still knows what mercy is when he does, because some people will be begging for it."

'No, that's not true. It can't be. His dream is to become Hokage. Because of what I've done I owe it to him to make sure that dream comes true.'

Anko stood up and adjusted her trench coat. "I can see what you're thinking. I's all over your face." She said, sounding solemn. "You want to bring him back and help him fulfill his old dream. That dream is gone. I watched a lot of it all up close, I knew him more than most could say they did. There was a point when I saw a side of him he never showed. Hit was his sympathy for his world. This world that hates him. You can't stop that. You can't bring him back. Your motives are good, you want to help him with what you still believe to be his dream, and you want to show so kindness to right your wrong. But be where. Those who seem kindest, or try to be, are often the most insidiously cruel. Few, if any, can be trusted until the very end." She said before turning around to leave. Before she took two steps Sasuke was on his feet.

"You still haven't answered my question."

"What was that question again?" she asked without turning around.

"Do you know where he is, and if so where is he?"

She sighed. "No, I don't know where he went. He disappeared off the face of the earth and no one knows where he went. Not even his friends." Then she walked out of the door of the restaurant.

Sasuke stood there for a few moments to think about what she said before hardening his resolve and walking out after her.

'Eventually, she will lead me to him. All I have to do is keep track of where she goes.'

It was later at night and Anko was walking down the street when she noticed movement down a back alley. She chose to keep going before she walked past another and noticed the same movement. Someone was following her. She turned down the next side alley she came to and was able to see that the movement was someone walking back in the alley behind the buildings. When she got to the end of it she saw a figure in a black traveling cloak standing there. What she didn't know was that Sasuke had been following her and was now standing behind the corner she had come from. Under normal circumstances, she would have known but was too focused on the figure in front of her.

"Who are you and why are you following me?"

The voice that answered her was distorted. "A friend. If you want to know how to find Naruto then meet me here." The figure said while handing her a slip of paper, before instantly disappearing into a whirlpool of water that appeared underneath of him and grew to encompass his previous location only to disperse to show empty space, all of which happened in the space of less than a second.

She wasted no time to shunshin behind him. Sasuke came running out from behind his corner. He had wanted to stop them so that he could also get answers but was too late before they were both gone. His face showed all of his anger at being denied this opportunity for answers.

When Anko appeared again she was standing on top of the tower in the forest of death. She looked around and didn't see the figure.

"Where are you?!"

"Here."

She panicked as she heard the voice in her ear. She instantly had a kunai in her hand and spun around. What she saw shocked her. There was Naruto wearing the traveling cloak with the hood down now. Another thing that shocked her was that his hair was red, though if you looked closely you could see blonde at his scalp to indicate that he had dyed it red and it was starting to grow back out.

"Naruto, how-"

"After I took down the barrier around the village it was a simple matter of making sure I wasn't seen by the sensory types they have patrolling the walls. Also, I'm only a Kage Bunshin. The real me is doing something far more important. However, I'm here to tell you where to go if you want to join me. Head to the southernmost point in the Land of Hot Water. There will be a small village there. Wait for a ship to pull into the docks. The name of the ship is the Black Pearl. Then it will take you to me. I suggest you leave in a few days. However, you should make sure Sasuke is unconscious before you leave. He followed you after you left the dango shop. I don't want him getting in the way. It would be troublesome."

"Troublesome?"

"The Nara do not have a monopoly on the word. Anyways, I won't kill him if he ever confronts me because he is my friend, however, I will not let his misguided thoughts stand between me and destroying this place."

"I understand. So how are things going?"

"Currently they're going well for how early on everything is. However, it will be impossible to act any time soon."

"Alright, then I will see you soon."

"So long as everything goes cording to plan, yes. For right now I'm running low and I'm about to disperse. Leave soon. I have no doubt that Sasuke will tell Tsunade about you know where to find me here very soon. The moment he lost the trail in that alley he knew he was going to need help with tracking me down. However, he will try to keep them out of the loop for as long as he can so that Tsunade can't get to me first. At least he's smart enough to know he shouldn't trust the Sannin. However, I can no longer stay. I'll see you in a few weeks." Naruto said before dispersing.

In a moment Anko was also gone. She needed to leave as soon as possible. If she stayed too long then she wouldn't be able to get away before they were on her trail.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ was hiding behind a rock so that he could remain unseen for the moment. He had his Uzukage robe on and his hair was starting to grow out so the natural color could barely be seen growing out of his scalp. In a moment he would start his attack which would signal the rest of the forces to commence their own attack. Right now though he was making sure the device in his hands was ready. In his hands was an eighteen inch around, two-foot-long, and canister like device.

The device had five seems. Four went up the sides of the device while the fifth went around the middle. These seems were so that the eight individual panels could separate and be automatically sealed into the two sealing arrays on the two ends of the device. When the panels were sealed it revealed most of the device to be covered in a black grid pattern over a grey background. The inside of the canister was actually a covering itself. Under the grey and black grid covered a one inch around metal tube. The grey and black grid was there, taking up the rest of the device's interior because it was actually billions of sealing arrays stacked on top of each other to form a hollow three-dimensional cylinder. After he had managed to gather some documents in his family's library on seals and some things that Mito Uzumaki had given Kushina after she was brought to Konoha. He had his Bunshin working on making dozens of them before he left because they took months to create.

The sealing arrays had been modified so that they would eject their contents within a matter of seconds. To make a weapon out of the design Naruto had simply filled each of the billions of seals with thousands of metal senbon. The device would decimate everything around it by ejection all of the thousands of billions of senbon in a matter of moments to rip apart everything. He had also managed to engineer the seals so that they would be linked so that they could fire them all in a single direction, although the one in his hand would send them out in every direction so that it could be the most effective in this situation. This device that he had created was one that he called, a 'chaos mine'. It could be engineered to respond to several things. A timer, motion sensor, applied presser, removed presser, a keyword, remote detonator, and impact. These allowed them to be deployed in many ways in many situations. This particular one was set for impact.

Before commencing his attack he created several dozen Bunshin, each pulling themselves from his shadow, to protect him while he ran for it. Before taking off he strapped the chaos min to his lower back. The fortress he was attacking had large stone walls with several small buildings inside and a main, five flour tower at the center.

Once he took off with his Bunshin taking up formation in front of him it took only a few seconds before he was noticed. The moment he was, he was assaulted with a barrage of kunai, explosive tags, and long-range jutsu. He and his Bunshin avoided what they could while the copies took what couldn't. The moment he hit the wall he was most of the way up it in no time. Now the copies ran ahead and allowed themselves to be stuck with the paper bombs so that they could take them back up the wall to the people who through them. Although the bombs were detonated before they got very far, it helped to vibrate the wall, and therefore through off the aim of those at the top.

What happened next happened within seconds. The moment he was on top of the fortification he had to lean backward to avoid a blade being stabbed towards his face. He quickly grabbed the wrist of its owner and twisted it so that the enemy would be flipped, while also pulling him into the air. Naruto had forced himself to move past the sickness he felt when killing and grabbed the man's throat before slamming him into the floor. When the man's head hit the stone he also had his windpipe crushed by the force Naruto was applying.

After that, he had move quickly to avoid the wave of spike that had been coming for him since he landed on the wall. Jumping up over them, Naruto had a Bunshin pop into existence to throw him towards the person who had used the Doton jutsu. When Naruto was in a rage as he drew his sword and impaled the man through the heart in a streak of black and green.

Then he saw a streak of lightning flash towards him from behind. Thinking quickly he sank into the stone wall before reappearing behind the attacker who turned around to counter-attack. However, Naruto was already in the air with the front of his right foot hooked behind the man's head, and the heel of his left pushing against the left side of the man's face. He pulled his right foot back and pushed his left foot forward to produce a sickening crack as the man's neck was twisted at an unnatural angle.

Deciding to get out before the rest of the guards could continue to attack he removed the chaos mine from his back and tossed it over the wall. The moment it left his hands he shunshined away. When he reappeared he was running with the rest of the army he had signaled by starting his attack. He was now leading the charge with Hinata and Shino at his sides. He looked at both of them for a moment as they both nodded. They were ready. It took another ten seconds before they were at the wall that was turned to dust at this point due to the chaos mine. The body parts that could be identified were ripped apart and turned into pin-cushions. The wall, surrounding buildings, and the shinobi around that location were obliterated and turned to mist or dust. Naruto gave the signal and Jirobo jumped out of the attacking wave to the front. When he landed he used a Doton jutsu that shifted the ground they would be moving over to get rid of the scattered senbon on the ground. When he fell back into the ranks with the rest of the Uzu four, Naruto led them in and they started systematically moving in. many of them were splitting up to take different areas and keeping support busy.

Naruto and the other two of his team charged through the paths towards the main building, taking down those who got in their way as they went. Shino would send his insects out ahead and around corners, Hinata disabled people who got close enough to the rear, and Naruto used his sword to impale or decapitate or would shove a Rasengan into the midsection of anyone who got close enough in general. When a group of seven enemy shinobi rounded a corner in front of them Naruto created a dozen Bunshin to keep them busy while they went in and took them down.

It took them another minute before they had met up with some of the other teams outside of the south entrance of the main building. Once there Naruto had some of his Doton users come forward and destroy the door. With the door gone Naruto also saw smoke rising to signify that the other entrances were also being breached. Knowing that the other teams were able to see the smoke to signify that their door was clear he rushed in, followed by the rest of his forward infiltration team. Now it was up to all four teams to do their individual jobs.

Once inside they once again split up to take individual halls and rooms. It didn't take long before most of the building was secure. After many small skirmishes Naruto, Hinata, and Shino split off to take on their own target. It didn't take long for them to find him killing some of their units. The man was middle-aged with plain black armor and two katanas, one in each hand. He was the general in charge of this base. They were now in a large atrium that seemed to serve as a connecter for some of the branching halls. This place was meant to make intruders lost if they didn't know the way, or didn't have others helping them map it out.

Once he noticed Naruto and his team Naruto could see the man become nervous for a split moment. He had heard of the Uzukage's involvement in fighting against Kiri. However, he quickly got over it and attacked. Hinata and Shino were about to help Naruto with a counter-attack when more Kiri shinobi entered the large room. All three shared a look before Hinata started moving to disable the chakra and pressure points of some, while Shino consumed others with his insects. When some got to close they engaged in taijutsu and used kunai to fend off enemy blades.

Naruto had pulled up his own sword to block both of the enemy's swords at once. He pushed the man back before putting him on the defensive by creating a Bunshin and having it henge into another of his black and green sword. He quickly took up both of his blades and charged in to keep the man on his toes. Every time he would slash across the man's middle he would switch one of his blades into a reverse grip to block while using his other sword to block the blows Naruto tried to deliver to the man's throat or face. However, it didn't last long as the man used Naruto's own momentum to flip him onto his back and toss away Naruto's swords, one of which dispersed upon impacting the stone floor. He then held his swords at Naruto's neck.

"You were a good opponent for your age, and you did not disappoint my expectations from your reputation. However, this is where you die."

"Not quite," Naruto said with a smirk before disappearing into smoke.

"What the-?!"

The man was cut off as he felt a sword impact the back of his armor and impale him. he could feel part of his spine being severed as the sword came out from between the middle of his left rib cage, and therefor puncturing the left lung.

"I am sorry to use such a deceitful tactic on such a worthy opponent such as you, however, I cannot die here. There are things I need to do. I wish I could have fought beside you as you would have made an excellent ally. That is why I wish to know your name." Naruto said from behind.

"General Mikami Katase. Tell me a couple of things before I die. Why can't I feel anything, and how did you do it?"

"Before my attack ever started I had my sword on a table. Then I created a Bunshin. Because I myself was not holding the sword my Bunshin didn't have the sword himself. So I then picked up my sword and henged myself into it so that I was holding my sword inside of the transformation. I had my clone wield the sword I was transformed into so that if the need arose it could toss away the swords so that I could cancel the henge and strike from behind. As for the other thing, I made sure to sever part of your spinal column so that you would feel very little. You deserve that for being one of the few honorable and worthy opponents I have faced."

"Well, then I guess I have to say good luck. I owe you that much." The man said before dying. Naruto set the man's body down and removed his sword to put it away before turning to see Hinata and Shino finishing off the stragglers that had come in when they did.

"You two okay?" he asked.

His response was for them to nod.

"Alright, let's get moving while we're in the clear," Naruto said. Before leaving he created several dozen Bunshin to map out a route to the rendezvous point. It didn't take long before Naruto had a rout and led them out of the chamber. As they walked down the network of halls there were some small fights going on down other halls and marveled at how quickly the base had fallen. It had taken little time for them all to systematically take control and defeat the enemy stationed here.

When they emerged from the building through the west entrance they were greeted with Mei Terumi, her guards, the Uzu four, Zabuza and Haku, and many of the soldiers resting in a courtyard. Some were also tending to the wounded. He saw one of his Uzu nin standing that was relatively unscathed apart from a few cuts and burns. She had short brown hair with pink eyes and was wearing basic shinobi clothing with a small orange stripe on each shoulder, as well as light padding to dampen blows without weighing her down too much. She was actually older than Naruto, as were many of the ex-Oto nin, but had decided it was best to acknowledge him as the leader of her new home, like many of the ex-Oto nin had also done. After waving her over she gave a small tip of her head to signify that she was awaiting orders but was ready to move when needed.

"I want you to get together a status report for me. Compile a list of losses, wounded, and prisoners. After that I want you to arrange for those prisoners to be brought to me along with your report. After that, you will be dismissed to your normal responsibilities." Naruto said. As she left to carry out her orders Naruto sat down on a small piece of rubble. They had managed to keep most of the base intact, but explosive tags had still done some damage. This counted even more for buildings that had been covered in them as traps.

He sat there with Hinata and Shino for another ten minutes before the nin he sent to get a report returned.

"Report," Naruto said, standing up as he did so.

"Total casualties on our side were fifty-three. Twelve of those were Uzushio shinobi. The wounded count is sixty-four. Seven of those are Uzushio shinobi. However, none of them were too injured to go back into combat within a few days. As for prisoners, we captured five. However, one was able to kill one of the others and then himself before they could be properly restrained. Also, it seems that most of them were only here because their families are being held. If they surrender then their families are killed."

"Alright, unfortunate. However, it can't be changed right now. For now, that leaves us with over five hundred left alive, thirty-six of which came here with us a week ago. I don't want to but it seems I will need to employ more of my chaos mines in a few days when we assault the village. For now, tell everyone to rest up and get ready. Also, prepare a funeral pyre for our fallen. After that, you're dismissed." He said. She nodded and walked off to give the message she was told to spread.

Shortly after the three remaining prisoners were brought in front of him. "You will be sure to tell everyone in Kiri that we are on our way. Understand. Tell them that our attack will be brutal. So long as that happens we will point you southwest towards the village."

When they all said that they would he wave a hand to have them taken away. He also quickly had another Uzu nin come over. "Before they leave, make sure to break one leg on each of them. I don't want Kiri to have time to plan a counter-attack. After that, let's hope everything goes according to plan."

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ was laying in his tent thinking about the day, about the victory that might not have been if the exact conditions had not been met. He hated thinking about it, thinking about the lives he had taken. However, his mind was slowly helping him ignore the pain, ignore the faces. It no longer mattered. This had to be done to make sure that everything went according to plan. He knew that civilians would die tomorrow. That couldn't be changed. They would be used as shields anyways. He needed to do this. He rubbed his eyes before sitting up and putting his legs over the side of the cot so that he was looking at the small coal holder that heated the tent. There was a small opening the allowed the small amounts of smoke to vent. He looked at his feet and picked up the four folders that sat there. He looked at all four of them.

**SPRING CONTINGENCY, SUMMER CONTINGENCY, AUTUM CONTINGENCY, WINTER CONTINGENCY**

He opened the spring folder and flipped through the pages. He cried at some of these things and how this plan was now useless like so many others were before he destroyed them. He looked at the last page.

Get married.

Live.

Be happy

Fulfill my dream to change the view of Konoha towards me and possibly become Hokage

Those were the last items in the folder. They were meant to show the end result of the plan. They were meant to be a checklist that could be crossed off once it was complete. He saw a tear fall and soak into the page. It didn't matter anymore. The plan inside was useless. He took the contents out of the Spring Contingency folder before opening the small heater and putting the pages onto the fire inside. He then tucked the folder into his pack to his left along with the other contingency folders. He sat there and wondered if the Summer Contingency would also become obsolete. He sat there and wondered how much the darkness of this world would consume of his life, of his plans, of his happiness.

Then he decided that it was time to go to sleep so that he could rest for the coming battle. He was involved in a war for a good cause, an important cause. But what would be the cost at the end of all of this? When did the cost of life become more than the end result was worth? He didn't know, but it was going to be something he would have to deal with, something he would have to take in stride if he wanted any of his dreams to come true.

When he laid down and closed his eyes he was distracted by a knocking on the post of his tent. He sat up before responding.

"Yes?"

His response was for Hinata to push aside the entrance flap and step inside.

"Hey, Naruto. I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Alright, What is it Hinata?" he asked before gesturing for her to sit down next to him.

After she sat down she steeled her resolve and spoke. "Naruto, today when you were fighting the general while Shino and I were fighting the guards one of them tried to go for you while both of us were busy. He was about to stab you with a kunai before I hit a fatal point on the one I was fighting and rushed to kill him as well. I killed him just in time before he got to you, before going back to fighting the others. That showed me just how important it was to protect my friends. To protect you. Ever since you came to help me while I was being bullied by those kids, since you never gave up, since you became my friend and helped me, I decided that I care about you Naruto. Before today I was still too shy to tell you that. To s-say it at all. But when I saw him about to kill you I reacted to protect you. After that, I had to face the fact that it was a possibility that you or I could have died today and I would never have told you. In a few days when we attack Kiri, we could die. So I need to tell you, while I still can." She turned her head to look him in the eyes. "I love you."

Naruto was speechless. He wasn't sure how to react. He looked closely at her. Her hair was starting to grow back out so that there was some of her natural black at her scalp. She still had her contacts in though.

"Hinata, I have to tell you that I don't know how to respond. You have been my friend for a long time. To be honest, I don't know if I feel the same, if I ever will, or if I even can feel the same way at all. So for now, all I can truthfully say to you is that you are my friend. And in that regard, I care for you as well. You, Shino, and Anko are the most important people to me. After all these years I consider you the closest thing I have to family. So promise me something. If I never do, if I never give you an answer, or if I die, move on. I would hate it if my surrogate family couldn't let go of me."

She nodded. "Alright, but only if you agree to not die any time soon."

"I will try my hardest," Naruto said. He felt something inside of him shift and change. He let his mind's eye shift to view his mindscape. He saw the glass case. It was shaking, glowing, shifting, and vibrating. He could see that the glass was being stressed by an invisible force. He let the mind's eye shift to see the rest of the scape. Everywhere he looked he could see the same stress of some invisible force.

_**"Be careful. You are now treading a path that has led to insanity for those who walk similar paths. You are now burdened with a weight that could break, or even destroy, not only you but your mind. And when it does I will be there."** _

However, Naruto came back to focus completely on reality. He put aside what he saw and heard to bid Hinata a good night. As she left he laid down on his cot and closed his eyes. He opened them to appear in his mindscape. Then he looked up to see the Kyuubi.

**"What are you here for now host?"**

"Why did you talk in my mind? Why did you say that?"

**"AHH, that. That was not me. I heard it as you did, but it was not me. I don't know what it was. That is why I myself am nervous. There was another presence with that voice, so tread lightly. Be careful about what happens in the future."**

Naruto nodded. This was something to be feared if it made Kurama nervous.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ was standing on the crest of a hill with the forces of his unit behind him. The total remaining forces had been divided into three groups. The first would come from the North East, the direction of the base they had taken a few days ago. The other two were set up to attack from the southeast and North West. With them surrounding Kiri they were set up for Naruto to once again signal the attack. With the Kiri forces knowing that their base had been stolen they had their forces focused in that direction until they could plan a counter-attack.

Naruto was able to see the village walls from his current position but was mostly hidden unless the enemy was looking closely. When his attack commenced they would draw most of the enemy in their direction while the rest of their forces would commence their own attack and take control of the unguarded places to catch the enemy from behind and take over quickly. This plan was also the give the other units the opportunity to secure the civilians. This was so that most of the shinobi would surrender with their families safe.

However, long before arriving there, Naruto had henged so that he could plant several of his chaos mines within the village. He had planted them in several places to systematically destroy their defenses and give them the openings needed. Naruto had placed one at each gate, two in the main barracks where the off duty enemy shinobi tended to stay, one he had placed in the main armory, two along the walls of the Kage tower to create openings, and a few on another network that was underground in the sewers to trap and slow down shinobi around the village.

The ones in the sewers were keyed to a detonation seal on his right hand while all of the others were keyed to one on his left hand. It was meant so that he could activate the ones on his left to cause chaos all over the village and thin out their numbers. The ones on his right were so that he could cause even more chaos as they tried to react. The name 'chaos mine' really fit the purpose of the devices.

Then he turned around to face his unit before speaking up. "This is it. This battle will end the war. Get ready!" he yelled, drawing his sword and turning around to face the village again. Now was the time to end this war. "Attack!" He yelled as he took off at a sprint with Hinata and Shino right behind him.

* * *

 _ **The**_ man was standing on top of a ridge overlooking the nearby Kirigakure. His black cloak flapping in the tense wind. His hair was now pulled up into a small wrap that kept it pulled up in the back of his head. He did this every time he was about to fight or go into battle.

"Is everyone in position for the assault?" he asked another of his generals.

"Yes, sir. We also made sure to remind them that they need to identify themselves as allies and only defend themselves as needed."

"Good, I would hate for them to attack us when we come up behind them. Have they started their attack yet?"

"No s-yes. Their attacking right now."

"Good. Attack." He said before drawing both of his double-edged swords and charging with the rest of them.

* * *

 _ **Sasuke**_ walked into the Hokage's office at the same time that Jiraiya did. He had told Jiraiya that he needed to talk to the two Sannin. He hadn't seen Anko since he tried to follow her, but he guessed it was her that knocked him unconscious since she was nowhere to be found after he woke up. He decided it was time to tell the Sannin about what he had overheard and why she as gone.

'I should have gone to them sooner. They could have made her lead us to Naruto. Now that she's gone there's nothing I can do..'

When Sasuke and Jiraiya sat down with Tsunade and Shizune sitting in front of them, Tsunade asked what this was about.

"I know why Anko is missing," Sasuke said. His response was a questioning glare. "I saw her talking to a man in a black traveling cloak. He offered to tell her where Naruto was. I tried to stop them before they shunshined away and I lost them. After that, I found no trace of Anko until I was knocked out yesterday morning. I only woke up an hour ago, leading me to believe that she drugged me so that she could have time to cover her tracks. I think we all know where she went, or rather who she went to." He finished.

Tsunade stood up before dragging her arm across her desk, sending everything flying and some glass shattering. She said nothing, but you could see the anger radiating.

"Get me files for the bingo book. I want Naruto and Anko brought back here as soon as possible." She let out in a low, yet murderous, voice. Shizune ran out of the room to accomplish her task.

When she started to try to calm down Jiraiya turned to Sasuke.

"Sasuke, there's something I wanted to talk to you about. I want to train you."

"What did you just say?" Sasuke asked, now surprised and slightly angry. He already knew where this was going.

"You heard me. Naruto trained with me for a little over a month. I didn't teach him much but he did improve. Plus, who knows what he'll do before we find him again. You're going to need the extra training."

"Then I can train with Kakashi."

"You already know that won't be good enough. At this point, he's probably training in everything he can with those Kage Bunshin of his. You're going to need to train under me. And there are the toads."

"What are you talking about Jiraiya?" Tsunade asked.

"When Naruto escaped I tried to have them remove his name from the contract. Gamabunta refused. He said that I had Naruto sign the contract and it couldn't be removed. Though he did assure me that he wouldn't let any of them be summoned, there was something off. There was something in the way he shifted that told me he wasn't telling me everything."

"However, they did agree to let me put your name on the contr-"

"No!" Sasuke said, shooting to his feet. "You can keep it. There are a few clan contracts in my clan's library. The toads won't be needed."

With that Jiraiya shook his unease and nodded. Sasuke using some more of his clan's techniques would probably be best.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ quickly activated the seal on his left hand. He watched as dust shot up into the sky from the village. The chaos mines were working. He lifted up his hand to give a signal. When he felt Hinata and Shino place their hands on his shoulders he disappeared in his Uzumaki shunshin with them. When they reappeared they landed inside of the walls. It was their job to go in and create as much chaos as possible before the first unit got there to help them. Naruto interlocked his arms with theirs while bringing up his hand to form a cross.

"Now, let's see if this works as well as I think it will." He said before several dozen of each of them appeared. Hinata and Shino appeared slightly winded but it passed as they saw Naruto in the exact same state. For him to be winded was a rare sight.

"Alright. You all know what to do. Let's finish this!" he yelled as all of the copies grouped together to form a wave. Each of the Shinos raised their hands up as their insects flew to form a wave that flooded down the surrounding streets. Screams of pain could be heard over the roar of buzzing. But that passed and every Hinata activated their Byakugan to fight the enemies jumping down from the roofs. The Narutos also attacked with their swords in one hand and Rasengan in the other. They would quickly impale the enemy on their swords and destroy their bodies with the Rasengan they shoved into the Kiri shinobi's chests. When no more enemies were in the immediate area all of the Bunshin disappeared.

Naruto and the other two were about to get to fighting again when more Kiri shinobi appeared. However, they were stopped as their forces came through the gate. Before Naruto and his cell could take off they were stopped by one of the resistance members.

"Lord Uzukage, on the way down here we encountered another large force coming from the North, South, East, and West. We thought they were enemies but they seem to be on our side."

Naruto closed his eyes momentarily to think. When he opened them again he spoke. "For now we shall count it as a blessing. Take the help you can get and be thankful that less of our side will die."

The resistance member nodded before taking off. Naruto explained the situation to the other two before they left as well. Running down a street they quickly got ready to fight as four Kiri shinobi jumped from the roof of a building to block their path. Before either side could make a move the enemies fell dead.

Behind their bodies was a man in strange armor with a sword in his hand. The armor had red on the bottoms of the feet, white up to the knees, which were blue, and then white until it reached the middle torso. Above that, there was a red midsection with blue and white on the rest apart from a black object adorning the center of his chest. The shoulders of the armor jutted out slightly past the arms. On his head was a helmet with a black object on the forehead just above spike above the eyes that branched out. On the sides were two more of the black objects where the ears should be. Past that a wide spike jutted out of each side. On his left shoulder was a large blue shield it green around the edges.

In the man's hand was a large, wide double-edged broad sword. At his hip were two Katanas with silver blades, blue sheaths, white handles, and silver guards. One was at each hip. Then he spoke.

"You must be the Uzukage. Things will be explained later. For now, all you need to know is that we are here to help you." He said before disappearing. Naruto knew that whatever conversation held this explanation would be long and complicated.

* * *

 _ **The**_ man was currently walking down the halls of the Mizukage's tower. He had used the chaos to ignore everything but getting here. When he stepped around a corner he was assaulted from all sides by Kiri shinobi who also came from the ceiling. He responded instantly as time seemed to slow around him by readying his two swords. He spun around in a flare to slash open the chest of four of them. He then jumped into the air to decapitate one, kick off of the body, and launch into two enemies who were also still suspended in the air. With his blades in front of him, they reached the two before he did, impaling their necks. He then moved his legs forward to kick off of them and downwards. On his way down he decapitated two of them. He slid to the ground and turned to dash forward and disembowel one more. When he was done everything sped back up and the bodies fell. He had moved so quickly that it had happened in the span of a second.

He turned to look at the only remaining enemy, who at this point had wet himself at how quickly everyone around him had died at the hands of one person. He started to walk towards the Kiri nin who instantly took off running down another hallway. The man chuckled. He always got a kick out of it. It was one of his few pleasures in life. He continued walking until he reached his destination. He opened two large double doors to find himself in a relatively large atrium. Once inside he saw who he was looking for. He saw the Mizukage, Yagura, picking up his weapon, which was a staff-like pole weapon with unevenly sized hooks with a green flower on the larger end, to go fight in the battle taking place outside of his tower. However, he looked up to see the man enter, his emotionless face looking at the intruder.

Yagura appeared to be just entering his teens but was actually an adult. He had messy, light-grey hair, pink pupilless eyes and a stitch-like scar running from under his left eye, all the way down his cheek. He wore a grey, sleeveless shirt with his hitai-ate attached to the front, short-sleeved mesh armor over which he also wore a green poncho along with a turquoise obi around his waist, paired with a green apron over his pants, and brown boots. He also had a tanto on his right hip and a wakizashi on his left. The wakizashi had a silver blade, a green guard that was a simple diamond, and a handle that was black along with the pommel.

"Who are you?" Yagura asked.

The man looked towards the shadows of the round room in a single spot to the right of Yagura.

"I could ask the same of you, over in the shadows. He who truly pulls the strings. Why don't you come out and let me see who you are?"

There was a tense silence before a man walked out of the shadows. He wore black shinobi sandals, bandages around his lower legs, and slightly baggy black pants. He also wore a black robe that went down to his knees, had a thick purple trim, and a grey obi around his middle. Under the robe, you could see bandages covering his right hand and arm, as well as bandages covering most of his chest. His hair was long, black, and spiky so that it had a wild appearance. However, his face couldn't be seen as it was covered with a mask. The mask only had an eye hole for his right eye, which could be seen as a lone Sharingan, and was yellow with thick, stylized, black lines around the eye, although only two of them touched the outside of the mask.

"Ah, wonderful! Now I understand, you are the famed Madara Uchiha!" the man said with a joyous tone. He seemed unfazed in the slightest, and on the inside he was. He had expected this person to be behind everything, just like he was the one behind the Kyuubi attack all those years ago. "Wait," he said, his voice dropping a little, "I got that wrong. I meant to say you would be Madara Uchiha if you weren't actually his successor, and he wasn't dead." He didn't miss Madara flinch, if only slightly. From everything he had gathered over the years, he had put together a profile on many things, including Madara and everything surrounding him. Though, some of it was speculation.

"HAHAHA! No, I'm very much alive."

"Of course you are, but your flinch a moment ago confirmed my suspicions. You are not the real Madara Uchiha. He died long ago, probably bequeathing everything, including his name, to you. So tell me, how am I doing so far?"

"To be honest you're getting on my nerves. But before I kill you, tell me....how did you figure it out?"

"It was not easy if that's what you're worried about. You see, I had to wait for you to tell me. And that took patience I didn't know I had." the man said with a smirk. "Don't get me wrong, I had the idea for quite some time. I built a profile on him a while back. I noticed something and thought to myself, 'why would someone who can single-handedly re-write the maps hide his face?' So I decided to try and trick you. I have to say that it wasn't that hard. I was a little disappointed."

"Hmm. Well, I must admit I didn't expect someone to deny my claims in such a way that I was forced to admit it."

"So then, would you be so kind as to take off that mask so that I can know who you really are. I think I deserve that much at least, for all my hard work."

"No, I think not." He said as the air started to shift and wrap around him before he was pulled into it.

When Madara was gone the man had to quickly defend himself by putting up both of his swords to catch Yagura's staff that was coming down to crush his head. He quickly kicked Yagura away only for the Kage to rush back with his tanto in a reverse grip in his left hand and his staff in his left. The man quickly twisted around to slice his staff in half as it was brought down and leaned back as the tanto tried to bite into the flesh that kept his jugular un-severed. When the tanto passed the man jumped away.

The man ran forward and slashed at Yagura who constantly leaned backward or sidestepped his blades. The man leaped back to avoid the now drawn wakizashi. He held up both of his swords to block the downward slash of Yagura's blade. He saw Yagura thrusting his tanto towards his ribs. He released his grip on his swords to reach in and grab both of Yagura's wrists. Yagura twisted around, bringing the man's arms with him. He quickly broke free and slashed his tanto across the man's chest, though not deep enough to hinder him.

The man quickly leaned down to avoid Yagura's wakizashi, grabbing his own swords at the same time. When he came back up he was able to stab forward. As Yagura turned away to avoid it the stab slashed across his upper arm. When Yagura retreated the man could tell that he had done some damage. Yagura had had the misfortune of having a severed tendon. Making use of his inability to use the wakizashi, the man rushed forward and cut Yagura's Achilles tendon. He wasn't expecting to see the wakizashi coming down at him immediately after. He took a cut to his shoulder as he retreated. He saw the wound on Yagura's arm closing rapidly. He knew he needed to act fast before the rest of his wounds healed and Yagura decided to enter his tailed beast state.

Stabbing his swords into the ground, he flashed through hand seals.

"Destruction's light!" he yelled before lighting shot from every tip of the man's fingers, toes, hair, and even nose. The lightning streamed out of him and into a storm forming in the center of the room. Within seconds the storm made it so dark that only the man could see. However, the darkness was short-lived as a bright light accompanied the sound of thunder. The man could feel the impact coming from the force of all the energy of a hurricane being released all at once. He could feel the destruction it was creating. When the light cleared the walls were cracked and looked ready to fall, yet were still standing due to being built to withstand powerful jutsu.

However, the man was also panting and looked up to see Yagura. Yagura was covered with burns, his clothes singed, and he was on his knees. He was obviously not finished yet, but he was still stunned due to having so much light and sound go off directly in his eyes and ears. The attack was meant to destroy everything, but the man had lessened its power considerably so that he didn't exhaust him himself, though he had still put in most of what he still had. From his assessment of the Mizukage's condition, a fully powered attack would not have killed the Kage and the man would have been too exhausted to finish him off. However, while the Kage was still stunned, the man pulled his swords out of the ground and walked over to the kneeling jinchuriki. He then put his swords at the Kage's neck to decapitate him in one move.

"Your sins are not your own, but that does not mean that if left alive you will not commit them. Forgive me for this." He said before pulling his swords back so that he could get the momentum to sever the head instantly. Before he could complete the movement the doors that were somehow still standing burst open.

In the doorway stood Naruto, Hinata, and Shino. Naruto was stunned to see the man about to kill the Kage but quickly got over it.

"Stop! I need him alive!"

The man looked reluctant as he saw Yagura starting to stir. "You realize that he is in this state because I was able to surprise him, right? He is under a genjutsu and will no doubt attack when he comes out of this."

"I know," Naruto said as he walked up to the still kneeling, but slightly more aware, Kage. He then took a knee in front of him and pulled out a piece of paper. He then applied the paper to Yagura's forehead and channeled chakra into it. "Forgive me, my friend. This is going to hurt."

As soon as the words left his mouth a seal appeared on the paper and Yagura collapsed on the ground, writhing and screaming in pain. After a few seconds, Yagura stopped and blacked out.

"What was that?" the man asked.

"Back when the Kyuubi was kept in Uzushio people putting the jinchuriki under genjutsu was not exactly rare. Because the Biju was uncooperative they had no way to break it themselves unless they had unbelievable chakra control. So the people of Uzushio developed a seal that momentarily stopped all flow of chakra in their bodies. The only flaw was that the bone-crushing pain often caused unconsciousness." Naruto said before checking Yagua's pulse. "A sub flaw was that on rare occasions it would cause death. By rare, I mean it happened twice."

"So what about cases like Yagura, where it was nearly impossible to apply the seal1?"

"It happened once. How do you think Madara Uchiha so easily got ahold of the Kyuubi before it was sealed into Mito? He used a genjutsu to control the previous host until he was ready to extract it. So a variant of the seal was created. The seal was placed at the base of the neck. The trigger was for the detection of a foreign chakra signature causing irregularities in the chakra network. This was why the Jinchuriki was always guarded with some of the fastest shinobi. When the jinchuriki were rendered unconscious they would pull them out of the situation and retreat."

"Yes, that was brilliant. So now that this is taken care of I guess introductions are in order, Uzukage."

Naruto stood up and faced the man. "Yes, I agree. Naruto Namikaze Uzumaki, the Shodaime Uzukage" Naruto said as he extended his hand.

The man extended his hand and they clasped each other's forearms. "Good. I have been waiting to meet you ever since you started intervening in the war. As for me...you may call me Chronicle." He said as they separated and took a step back.

"Chronicle?"

Chronicle smiled and gave a small chuckle. "I long ago forgot my name. There was a time in my life where I talked to no one for so long that I forgot it. So I now go by the name Chronicle. I'm sure you have a few questions for me."

Naruto's face turned serious. "Yes, I would like to know a little more about who you are and why you're here."

"Of course," Chronicle said, his face also serious now. "Come on. Let's first make sure that order is maintained within our ranks. Then we can have a meeting to discuss everything. But first, who are your teammates?"

Naruto gestured to them. "Hinata, and Shino. Two of my closest friends."

"Good. Now, let's go and make sure our two armies don't kill each other."


	11. Chapter 11

_**Sasuke**_ was now sitting in the Hokage's office with Tsunade, Kakashi, Tsume, Jiraiya, Hiashi, Shibi, Kiba, a branch member Hyuga dressed as one would expect of a Hyuga member, and a member of the Aburame clan who was dressed as one would expect of an Aburame clan member. They were all tense.

"Tsume, give your report," Tsunade said, her hands folded in front of her face.

She nodded. "After you had me send our teams after Anko we were able to pick up a trail. With the fact that you had us start looking to the East, we picked the trail up quickly, at least quickly for going after a special Jonin that's so good at covering their tracks. It was difficult but with the help of Jiraiya's network, the trail led to a small village in Hot Water Country. We kept our distance so that we didn't take the risk of alerting Anko and/or Naruto."

"Good, now I'm going to set up a team to go capture Naruto and Anko and bring them back. Sasuke, you're going to be on this team to help fight Naruto while Kakashi will be going to help take care of Anko. I will also be sending this Hyuga branch member, Aburame clan member, Kiba, and a couple of ANBU. The ANBU will be helping with Anko while the rest will help you subdue Naruto. He shouldn't be that much of a threat, but he did train under Jiraiya for a short time and will no doubt be training with Anko as long as he can. You will all be moving out in an hour. Prepare whatever you need. Also, Jiraiya, you said you have something troubling to report."

He stepped forward. "Yes. I'm worried about the toads. I asked them to let me use the key to the seal of the Kyuubi. I was hoping that I could alter it in a way that would cripple his movements. Until now they never had a problem with me making small adjustments to the seal. They're hiding something, they're being less cooperative with me. Whenever I talk to them I can feel the tension in the air. Something's wrong but when I asked them about it they said that they were simply focused on troubling matters that couldn't be discussed. They're hiding something but I won't be getting it out of them any time soon. It's almost like their preparing for something, and it makes me uneasy. Doesn't feel right."

* * *

 _ **The**_ boy was running. He had been on the streets for a long time now. It had been a couple of years since they had killed his family. Two years since he had been on his own. Sometimes people would give him looks of sympathy, spare change, scraps of food, but never enough for him to get buy on. Sometimes he was forced to steal food from venders. Right now he was running from a particularly angry stall keeper that he had repeatedly stolen rice and bread from.

The boy managed to lose the somewhat portly man by running out of the small town and into the nearby woods. Without looking back he kept running to where he had been taking shelter for the past year. The place was nothing more than a small cave that could hardly be called such. It was more of an indention in the rock that provided enough cover for him to lay down with a fire under the covering. It had been hard living alone. The time had forced him to forget some of the things from his past.

The eleven-year-old boy could hardly survive on his own, but his father had managed to teach him a very small amount about living in the wilderness. Though it only gave him the ability to camp out for a short time. At first, he had been able to stave off hunger by taking the scraps and catching small fish, but as time went on he started to become malnourished. As things stood he was lucky to outrun even the stall keeper that was after him.

The cave came into sight before he tripped on a stone. The moment the boy's bare and dirty feet hit the stone he could feel pain shoot up his leg, but the pain was pushed aside as the ground rapidly came up at him, his tattered clothing about to do nothing to dampen his fall on the stones coming up to greet his face. He lost consciousness, but because his sleep was dreamless he felt like he was opening his eyes immediately after they had been closed. He faded out again as the haze in his eyes kept him from seeing much. When he opened his eyes again the fog in his eyes kept him from properly seeing the shadowed figure in front of him very clearly. The sun in his eyes didn't help much either. He blacked out again as he felt himself get picked up. He could hear the words in his ears as he faded away.

"Lucky I'm in a generous mood or you might have been left here."

When he opened his eyes again he was laying on a cot in a dark room. He looked around but could hardly see. What he could see was a silhouette getting on their feet. He tried to speak but his throat was dry and felt like it was broken.

When the figure got closer he was able to tell that it was a woman but failed to make out any of her features. When she got to his side she held up his head and put a cup to his lips.

"Drink. You're dehydrated and need water. Open." Her soft, yet firm, voice said to him.

He opened his mouth and felt the cool water flow down his throat. He couldn't say it, but he was grateful for the life-giving substance. When the cup was empty she put his head back down and backed up.

"When you're back to an acceptable state of health you're going to start training. That might seem random but so long as I'm taking care of you I will also be teaching you how to do it yourself. Whenever you want to leave you can, but if you aren't following my rules and regiments you won't be living here." She said as she turned walked to a door. She opened it, but before she was gone he heard her mumble to herself.

"Maybe I am getting soft, bringing him here and taking care of him."

He then faded out again as tiredness took him.

* * *

 _ **Chronicle**_ opened his eyes. He sighed as he sat up. He dreamed sometimes, but the dreams were always memories. Pictures of his past. He hated his past because it always taunted him. When he saw the memories they would go in sequence of chronology. But he hated them because they would always jump past his name. He could never just see his name. Why couldn't he just see his name? If he was going to see the past why couldn't he see the part that mattered most to him? He saw his life pass by but he never did hear his name. He assumed it was because he didn't have a memory of it so it didn't appear in his memories. He knew that information didn't just delete itself. It was there but at the same time, it was lost.

He got out of his bed and decided to leave the lights off. He preferred the dark because it kept him from seeing the world around him. He hated this world that caused him so much pain. He walked over the bathroom connected to the room he slept in. when he got in there he finally turned on the light and squinted momentarily while his pupils adjusted to the intake of light. He looked into the mirror that sat above his sink. He looked at himself. His upper body was uncovered allowing him to look at his body.

He was covered in several scars that had come from training and the trails of his life. There were three large, parallel scars the wet diagonally down his chest. These were caused by him fighting a large bear during his training. Others were from battle, some were from survival training, and others were caused by a stupid mistake he had made while tracking food for him and his teacher. He had been chasing after a deer that had run towards a cliff overlooking a large lake. The deer and stopped and turned, but Chronicle's momentum had taken him over the edge to the water waiting below. He had managed to avoid most of the rocks but had cut himself on the rocks he couldn't see below the surface of the water until it was too late. He was lucky to have survived. Or so his sensei had said.

He stopped looking at himself and proceeded to void his bladder, take a shower, and get dressed for the meeting he had soon.

* * *

 _ **The**_ day before the meeting had been the day they had ended the war. When word got around that the Mizukage was defeated most Kiri shinobi stood down. Anyone who didn't either took off or were taken down. Afterward, Naruto had joined Chronicle at his northern Kiri assault base. He had also made sure that Yagura was kept away from the Kiri and rebel forces so that he would be safe until Naruto took him back to Uzushio.

Naruto was sitting in a conference room with the people who had recently met with him. They were sitting at the northern assault base that Chronicle had used to attack Kiri. Around the table sat Naruto, Hinata, Shino, the Uzu four, Zabuza, Haku, Mei, Ao, Chojuro, Chronicle, Meizu, Gozu, Angela, the leaders of the other organization, the man in blue and white armor, and a few others.

When Naruto had first entered the meeting room and seen Maizu and Gozu the three had had a bad start. However, he had gotten over it rather quickly seeing as how they were now on the same side. It helped that Zabuza and Chronicle were there to keep them all in line.

"So then Uzukage, where should we start?" Chronicle asked.

"Why don't we start with you and your motives here? You and your group."

"Alright, first you have the other organization which has the primary goal of maintaining peace where it can."

He proceeded to introduce the members and allowed them to tell their goals of ending war and stopping tyranny. Another thing he told them was how they had used seals Naruto might want to look at.

"When they came here they started out with small towns and villages, eventually gaining support but not really gaining size. Eventually, I found them and asked them to join me. At that time my own force was also small, but still larger than theirs. They saw the advantage of joining someone who had the extra forces and had a similar goal to them." Chronicle said. "As for me, I started building my group a while back. Now it's been close to five years since I brought Angela into my organization. I had started building my group together several months before that. So my organization has been growing just over five years with the goal of changing the world."

"Changing the world seems pretty broad," Mei said.

"Well, I don't know any other way to say it. That's why I sought out the Celestial Knights when they came here. I liked their goals. My own goal is broad, but I agree to support anyone so long as what they do will change the world in a way that I see as making it better. I have helped others, even ones that wanted destruction. Though that was because the people who were part of those organizations believed that they were doing the right thing. Eventually, though I had to destroy them because I saw that they wouldn't bring about a better world. They believed so much in what they were doing that it took me far longer than it should have to stop them. So, for now, you simply need to take my words to heart that my goal is to change the world." Chronicle said with a small smile on his face.

"So now you, Uzukage, what about your goals. The same for you Mei. Since you ended the war what do you plan to do?"

Mei was the first to answer. "For now there's already a lot of talk about making me the next Mizukage as soon as possible to maintain order and start putting things back on track to start rebuilding Mizu no Kuni. After I help get everything stabilized enough I'm going to start branching out to get support for our recovery. Eventually, I intend on helping the Uzukage with his goal. However, I leave the rest of that up to him seeing as how he had me give my word not to reveal his identity." She said.

People started looking to Naruto as he then stood up, although it didn't make much difference because Naruto still had the lack of height that came with lack of age.

"Some of you already know who I am. But for those of you who don't, I am Naruto Namikaze Uzumaki." He said. Afterward, he told them how he was the Kyuubi Jinchuriki, as well as how he was betrayed.

"Well, if that's the case," Chronicle said, "you might be interested to know that my own spy network has informed me that they sent out a retrieval team for you."

Naruto scoffed. "How the tables have turned. Go ahead and give me the information you have on them when this meeting is over. I will take care of them myself." There was then a pause. "Well, as for my goals that you were asking me about, they have recently changed. When I left Konoha my long term goal was to destroy Konoha after I had built Uzu to a point where it can stand against the world if it needed to. However, that has changed to become only part of the goal. There are people out there who will never allow the Jinchuiki to have peace. So I will bring them together, and then I will use the combined power of all of the allies I can gather to wipe out the corruption from this world. However, as I said, destroying Konoha is still part of the plan. I will raise Uzu to a point where it can stand against the whole of the elemental nations if need be, and then Konoha will fall, as will all who stand in its way. I will turn Uzu into a representative of peace and justice."

Chronicle stood up as well. The tension in the room, as well as KI caused the occupants to become uneasy. "Tell me Naruto, what justification do you have for such a goal? It sounds much more like you wish to seat yourself in power over this world by destroying all of your enemies. Not like you really want peace."

"Let me ask you this Chronicle, who doesn't want to have the power to destroy their enemies? The problem with this world is having a good reason for doing it. Mine is to protect those I care about, to bring peace, and to get justice for those of my clan who died when my home was destroyed. Though destroying Konoha mainly comes from wanting revenge, it also comes from wanting to destroy their corruption. Konoha has been the source of plenty of destruction in the world. It's only fair that they finally reap what they have sown. But I have no intention of being the evil dictator. If anything, once this is over I will give the title of Uzukage to someone else and live peacefully in my home. That is my long term goal. That is my plan."

The KI radiating from Chronicle stopped. "So then, if you want revenge against those who destroyed Uzu, why make an ally out of Mizu?"

Mei tensed at this. She knew Kiri had been part of that attack and knew this would be an issue later, but was now concerned with how this was going.

"Chronicle, are you suggesting I simply destroy all of the elemental nations? Mizu has suffered enough. Once Mei is in place she will have my help cleaning up the mess that Yagura's master has caused. Then I will turn my full attention to other things. However, speaking of the person controlling Yagura, did you see him during your fight with Yagura?"

"No, I saw him before the fight. I spoke to him. You might be interested to know he was the one behind the Kyuubi attack all those years ago." He decided to leave out the part concerning Madara and his successor.

Naruto nodded as he and Chronicle sat back down. "I thought so."

"However, I must ask what you meant by me suggesting you destroy the entire elemental nations."

"Ah that. Well Chronicle, allow me to give you a little history lesson that just might show you the truth. Let's start with the origin of the Uzumaki clan."

Naruto then explained everything he had to say. During his lesson, some of the others in the room asked questions but eventually, it came to an end.

"I see," Chronicle said, a concerned look on his face. Even he hadn't known some of these things. He was not the only one. Naruto had just given them all information that none of them had known. "Then you have my word that so long as I see the way you're changing the world as one that will change it for the better, I will give you my support," Chronicle said. "Now then, I think that until everything is worked out for the next Mizukage we should save the rest of this meeting for later." Everyone nodded and they stood up to find something else to do. However, Chronicle pulled Naruto aside before they started walking down a series of hallways.

"Now then, I suppose we should discuss this team that's on its way to retrieve you," Chronicle said with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"I completely agree."

While they were walking Chronicle asked a question that had been bothering him.

"When you started the attack, how did you create clones of your teammates?"

There was a pause as Naruto considered his words."Back when I was in Konoha I had my clones working on an extensive project. One of the parts of the project was to continue the experiments on the Kage Bunshin jutsu that I started back when I was in Nami no Kuni. I discovered that by using my own chakra and body as a sort of nexus that allows people or animals without the chakra needed, to use the jutsu. Because my chakra is the building block of the jutsu it allows me to see the memories of those I allow to use the jutsu with me. But, this does allow them to use the jutsu as if they had my capacity and used it themselves. It's very useful when you want to create an instantly diverse army, or you want to train an animal. I was able to teach a hawk to talk and be a messenger due to that ability. And I was correct. When using that form of the jutsu with others who have bloodlines it becomes infinitely more useful for tipping the scales in your favor."

Chronicle nodded. "I understand now. That's why you went in first. So that you could take out most of their forces before your own got there. Brilliant. Thank you for explaining that to me. I've been trying to figure that out."

It took them a few more minutes of walking down the network of hallways until they came to a door. When they opened it they found a dark room with no light apart from a semi-circle of monitors. This semi-circle was focused on a man sitting in a swivel chair. The strange part was that he was sitting on his ankles while leaning over so that his knees touched his chest. He was a very slim, tall young man with black hair and dark eyes. One of his most noticeable features was the shadow below each of his eyes. He was wearing blue jean trousers, a long-sleeved, white shirt, and no shoes.

Chronicle walked up to him before putting his hand on the young man's shoulder.

"This here is the head of my intelligence network."

The man nodded before standing up. He half walked-half shuffled over to a small desk. He picked up a folder before moving back over to Naruto and handing it to him.

"This is the information I gathered on anything surrounding what Konoha is doing about you."

Naruto took the file and opened it and flipped to some of the most recent entries. He read up on the team and where it was headed.

"Well, then I don't have much time to head them off," Naruto said.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ was using his shunshin to move faster over the elemental nations. When he stopped he was out of breath and close to chakra exhaustion. However, he was where he wanted to be. Not far from the tree line he saw the small village that Anko was supposed to be waiting for him at. He was no longer wearing his Uzukage robe as he wanted to avoid Konoha knowing about Uzushio any time soon. Instead, he was in a black, short-sleeve shirt with an orange stripe on the shoulders and a white Uzumaki swirl on the back with a black outline. His pants were solid black with his patch strapped to his left thigh.

He jumped out of the tree before putting a small military rations pill, or MRP, in his mouth. He had used them to continually allow movement during the month he was keeping the Bunshin in his place back in Konoha. It would eventually stop being enough, but it kept him going long enough. Once that was done he pulled up his shirt to reveal a small seal on his ribs. He applied his hand and activated it. He started walking towards the village before activating the seal again twenty minutes later. By that time he was waiting at the docks.

Another half an hour later and a large ship started to pull into one of the docks with a man standing on the bow. The man standing there appeared to be a copy of the man standing on the dock. The man standing on the bow was the Bunshin Naruto had sent to Uzu to get the Black Pearl before coming here.

"Did the barrier put itself back up?" Naruto asked. The clone nodded. "Good. Glad to know the seal is working. Dispel." Once the clone was gone he sighed. Kamaji wanted to talk with him when he really got back. Then Naruto felt someone come up from behind.

He turned around to see Anko.

"Well, I have been waiting for you to make your grand entrance." She said.

"It gets better," Naruto said before pulling a scroll out of his Uzukage robe. He quickly opened it before unsealing it. In a cloud of smoke, five figures appeared. When the smoke cleared the newly dubbed Uzu five were sitting in chairs with earplugs and blindfolds.

After some debate two things had been decided. The first was that the Uzu four would be called five due to Sakon and Ukon practicing to gain strength when separated. The second thing was that people would be strapped to chairs and given earplugs and blindfolds to prevent the sickness that came from being in sealing scrolls for prolonged periods of time.

Naruto then woke them up. The precautions helped, but when Sakon was up he wobbled on his feet before leaning over to puke. He then opened a water canister at his hip to wash his mouth out.

"You have the sound four with you?" Anko asked.

"Who do you think organized their escape?" Naruto responded.

Once they could walk he had them and Anko follow him to a small restaurant. He had them sit before ordering his own meal and waiting for the other to do so as well. He had yet to give the Uzu five all of the details and was about to, along with Anko. Before he got the chance to explain why he brought the five Anko spoke up.

"So where's Hinata and Shino?"

"I'll explain in a moment. First off, they are no longer the sound four. They are now the Uzu five."

"Uzu?"

"Also something I will explain. First, I need you all to listen," He said as he got all of their attention. "I was able to obtain Intel that Konoha sent a team to get us, you and I Anko. Kakashi, two ANBU, an Aburame clan member, a Hyuga branch member, Kiba, and Sasuke. We don't have long. Also, that's why Hinata and Shino aren't here. If one of them leaves I don't need them reporting it back. That would mess up a plan I have in the works."

Anko nodded. "So that's why you brought us," Tayuya said. This time Naruto was nodding.

"Yes, Sasuke and I nearly killed each other last time but I still won. I can do it again. However, I still need someone to handle the others. That's where you come in."

"Wait," Anko said, "what about me? I might be able to hold off two ANBU and Kakashi for a short time, but not that long. I'm a special Jonin but even that will only last so long."

"Sakon and Ukon will assist me with Sasuke and his team, the others will help you against the ANBU and Kakashi. Now, eat your meals, we leave in twenty minutes. We have to if we want to head them off in time." Naruto said as they were brought their food.

"Why do we have a time limit to head them off? Why can't they meet us here?" Jirobo asked.

"This small village is set up to send supplies to a pick-up point every month for a fair fee. I don't feel like destroying it."

* * *

 _ **Sasuke**_ was currently running through the forest nearly thirty minutes from their destination. Kakashi had tried to get him to slow down, but he had only stopped once twenty minutes ago so that he wasn't completely depleted. He didn't think he would need to fight, but knew he should be prepared in case the need arose. However, he was still staying at the front of the group. He was glad that their destination was so close, but it was short-lived.

"Rasengan!"

Everything slowed down as Sasuke saw Naruto pass by him at a downward angle. He was trying to attack from above. As things sped back us he saw that the attack was aimed for Kakashi. However, as Kakashi dodged everyone in the group was forced to as well in order to avoid the debris that was shot out of the ground from the destructive orb being shoved into the ground.

When the dust settled Naruto was standing in the middle of a small crater with a Bunshin to his back and one on each side. Each Naruto had their sword in hand.

"Five, Anko, you know what to do!" Naruto shouted. Before anyone could react there were small explosions causing them all to scatter. On one side Kakashi and the two ANBU were facing Anko, all of the Uzu four apart from Sakon and Ukon, and two of the Naruto Bunshin. On the other side Naruto, his Bunshin, Sakon, and Ukon faced the rest of the retrieval team. Sasuke was the first to shake his surprise and speak.

"Naruto, what are you doing? What happened to you? We're here to bring you back."

"And who said I want to go back Sasuke?"

Before he could respond Anko and the others took off with Kakashi and the two ANBU. Sasuke had the others stand down until Naruto attacked.

"Naruto, they won't try to kill you again, I'll make sure of it," Sasuke said, trying to convince Naruto. After the words left his mouth he realized how stupid it sounded. 'I'll make sure they don't try to kill you again.' It was probably the most pathetic thing he could have thought of and he realized it instantly.

"HAHAHA! You think I care Sasuke? You are my friend Sasuke, but do not assume that means I will go back to that piss hole of a village. I really don't feel like you making an ass out of the both of us Sasuke, as the saying goes. I will never retune to that village, not before my plan gets to that point. It will be at that time that the village will fall."

"Naruto, you need to come back with us!"

"I have a better idea, why don't you come back with me?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm saying, join me so that Konoha can fall that much easier."

"No, Naruto that is our home."

"Your home, not mine," Naruto said as he turned around. "Now leave, or attack so that you can bring me back like you were ordered to."

"If those are the only choices you're going to give me, then it's not much of a choice," Sasuke said before crouching and creating a Chidori on his left hand.

Naruto turned to face him once again. "I will make you a deal Sasuke, defeat me and I..." he paused before Sasuke charged. "I will tell you the truth of the Uchiha Massacre!" Naruto said. The moment the words left his mouth Sasuke faltered. He nearly fell over but stopped as the Chidori dissipated. He was inches away from Naruto. He knew the Chidori wouldn't kill him so long as it wasn't placed in a vital spot, but it didn't matter anymore. Sasuke straightened and looked Naruto in the eye.

"That's right Sasuke, how would you like to know why it happened? Hm? But you have to beat me first. If you don't I will have to have Itachi tell you once I recruit him." Naruto said, keeping his face blank the entire time. Sasuke at that moment didn't know why, but something slipped away.

"TAKE HIM DOWN! ALIVE! NOW!" Sasuke yelled. The moment the words left his mouth Naruto's clone took Kiba, while Sakon and Ukon took on the Aburame and Hyuga clan members. They quickly forced them away onto their own clearings. The real Naruto was forced on the defensive as Sasuke pulled a kunai out and tried to cut Naruto across his face. He wanted to slow him down and knew it would heal.

Naruto quickly dodged before bringing up his sword to block another slash. Naruto took the small delay in Sasuke's reaction to being blocked to push him back. Before Sasuke could go back at it Naruto spoke again.

"Come on Sasuke, stop trying to hit me and hit me."

"AAAAHHHHH!" Sasuke screamed as he pulled a small tanto out and went back to Naruto again. Sasuke was angry that Naruto was taunting him, this caused his movements to become less controlled, no matter how rapid they were. Every attack he made, Naruto deflected with little trouble. Sasuke raised his tanto to try and bring it down at Naruto's face. He quickly realized how much of a mistake it was as Naruto wasted no time before planting his foot in Sasuke's chest with enough force to send him backward through a tree, and then put in indent into the next tree. He didn't stay down for long before charging Naruto again. Before he could react Naruto had him by the neck.

"Sasuke, my Bunshin was dispelled by that troublesome Kiba. Excuse me for a moment." Naruto said before spawning another clone. He threw Sasuke into the air before the Bunshin jumped up and spun around before using a kick to send Sasuke flying into the trees. Not two seconds later Kiba came from the trees on another side of the clearing with his sharpened nails going for Naruto's throat. Naruto quickly jumped to the side before moving low to the ground so that he could kick Akamaru in the ribs as the Ninken tried to bite into Naruto's neck as well. Naruto quickly straightened before jumping away.

"I don't care what my orders are, you're going to die Kyuubi!" Kiba yelled before charging again. Naruto instantly created several Bunshin. One quickly grabbed Kiba by the throat and used Kiba's momentum to drive him to the ground. The Bunshin turned Kiba's head to make him watch as the real Naruto roundhouse kicked Akamaru away again before using his sword to but the dog across the side. The dog whined in pain. Kiba wanted to scream but he was struggling to breathe with the Bunshin on top of his neck.

"Your dog looks to be in pain. Let's put it out of its misery." Naruto said with an evil grin. Kiba wanted to cry out for him to stop as Naruto formed hand seals before shouting. "Pit of despair jutsu!" Naruto yelled before driving his hands into the ground.

The ground opened up under the Ninken. The dog tried to jump away but its injuries were not the only thing hindering it. As the hole opened up two large hands made out of the earth reached up and grabbed the dog and dragged it down. All hope of stopping this left Kiba as the hole slammed shut with a yelp of pain as Akamaru was crushed.

Naruto turned to Kiba. "Now that wasn't so bad. Quick and painless."

He didn't give Kiba a chance as the clones dispelled only for Naruto himself to grab Kiba by the neck, lifted his head up, and slammed it back down to stun him. He quickly picked Kiba up and threw him into a nearby tree before weaving hand signs again.

"Katon: valley of ashes!" Naruto yelled before his middle started to glow. In an instant, he threw his arms out as an inferno shot out in every direction. Kiba had no chance to do anything as he was still trying to shake the fog out of his mind from his head being slammed into the ground. When the flames cleared all that was left was a much larger clearing made up nothing but burned twigs where the trees used to be, and ashes in place of everything else. On the outside of the clearing, most of the trees were crisped and devoid of life. On the far reaches of the Jutsu's range, the trees were singed with their leaves burnt off.

As he went to leave the clearing to find Sasuke he felt a hand grip his ankle. He looked down to see the destroyed, yet somehow still alive body of Kiba looking up at him. What was left of his face moved as he tried to speak. Naruto bent down to hear his last words. It was faint and Naruto could barely make it out but did so none the less.

"Tell my....mother and sister....I'm sorry....that I didn't....stay alive like...I promised." Kiba groaned out with each pause punctuated by the painful intake of air that nearly caused him to die before he could finish. However, when he was done he was still alive somehow. Life clung to him. Almost like a disease. Naruto couldn't stand the sight and slashed with his sword. Kiba's head rolled away in the same second. As he stood up he heard screaming. He looked to see a slightly singed Sasuke charging at him. His curse mark covering his body, still in the first stage.

Naruto didn't let him get very far as he pulled up his sword and shoved it through Sasuke's heart, and out of Sasuke's back.

Sasuke hadn't expected Naruto to go for a killing blow. After all, Naruto had claimed that Sasuke was still his friend. He slumped over as the curse seal receded to its origin point.

"Why? You said I was your friend, yet you went for a killing blow."

"You misunderstand Sasuke," Naruto said as he laid the Uchiha down on the ground. He had Sasuke on his back as he removed his sword. "I did go for a killing blow, but not with the intention of killing." He saw the confusion on Sasuke's face. "It was a gift. I have freed you of Orochimaru. Your wounds are already healing." Naruto said before turning Sasuke over on his side and looking at where his shoulder met his neck. The curse mark was still there. "Let me rephrase that. I will have freed you of him in a moment." Naruto placed his hand on the seal before Pain shot through Sasuke like billions of needles were entering every pore of his body. He blacked out. His eyes opened a moment later and his bones had a dull ache. He looked up to see Naruto setting him back down. He had blacked out only for a few moments.

"Now that his influence is gone, I will give you a conciliation prize. I will still tell you about the massacre, but only after I give you a history lesson that will show you the truth." Naruto now had Sasuke's full attention. Before he could continue Sakon and Ukon landed next to Naruto as he sat down.

"Naruto, we were able to take care of ours," Sakon said.

"Good, go help Anko and the others with their job." They nodded before disappearing.

"Now then, allow me to tell you where my thirst for justice comes from. My goal is to create peace and bring about justice."

"Justice? Are you kidding? Naruto, you killed Kiba. He was our...." He paused. He knew that Naruto would never accept that. Kiba and Naruto hated each other. "He was my friend. You talked about joining Itachi, the man who slaughtered my clan. You talk about destroying the Leaf. My village, if not ours. If you do that, I will have to kill you! Yet doing all of these things, you're talking about justice? What part of that plan brings about peace and justice?"

"Fine, then what do you suggest for bringing those things about?"

"I already told you I would kill you if I had to."

"Oh, I see. That would be justice if I carried those things out and you killed me. That would be justice." Naruto said, standing up to look down at Sasuke.

"However, what about my friends? My clan? My village? What about my friends that I want to defend? What about my clan that was slaughtered? What about my village that was destroyed? My village suffered the same fate Konoha eventually will, at the hands of Konoha shinobi. How is it fair to let only you preach about justice?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Allow me to get onto my little history lesson. You might know this first part being an Uchiha, but just in case. I recently came across some documents and personal accounts that helped me piece together the past." Naruto cleared his throat and continued.

"Long ago there was a man named Hagoromo Otsutsuki, also known as the Sage of Six Paths. Long ago, the nine Biju didn't exist. Instead, they were part of a monster, the Juubi. The ten tails. He eventually sealed the monster into himself. He became the first jinchuriki. However, eventually, his life started coming to a close. He had to stop the monster from being unleashed when he died, so he used the abilities of the legendary Rinnegan, I'm sure you've heard about that, to divide the Juubi into nine equal parts. The nine Biju." He could hear the Kyuubi yelling that they weren't equal, he was the strongest. Naruto ignored him. "Now, seeing as how you now know how the Biju came to be, I can get on with my story."

"Now, the sage had two sons, Asura and Indra. Asura, the younger brother, inherited the sage's body. The older brother, Indra, inherited the sage's eyes. However, before the man died he asked his two sons a question. How should one bring about peace? The older brother said that strength was the answer, the younger said the answer was understanding. He chose that the younger brother should be his successor. It was a foolish decision. He should have told them that his true legacy was for both of his sons to come together, to create a balance between the two and that they should have worked together to create the peace that neither of them could have created alone. He tried to create a peaceful world by entrusting his legacy to one brother but instead created a never-ending war. However, it can't be changed now. The point is, that these two brothers become the first Uchiha and the first Senju."

"Let me guess, Asura was the Senju and Indra was the Uchiha." It wasn't a question. He could tell just by their answers and what they had inherited.

"Correct, but eyes and body were not the only things they inherited. They also obtained the sage's own writings about his life. He left them histories and such. However, generations later, as the Uchiha clan and Senju clan waged war, two people grew tired of being surrounded by death. One was a man of the Senju clan, though he was an odd Senju with red hair, the other a woman of the Uchiha clan who was also odd and also had red hair. For now, I will not go into their personal history apart from the fact that they fell in love and decided to take mast of the information about the clans. It wasn't as if anyone cared, the two clans cared about strength at the time, not information and understanding. So they left and eventually found an island home. They formed their own clan. The only reason anyone cared was because of the fact that they were from the two different clans, but they didn't care enough to pursue them when they left."

"Now, the two eventually had a son. The son had red hair as well. He also had the great Rinnegan. It was due to the two bloodlines mixing once again for the first time in so long. However, he used this great power, not for power, but to create a village. This son of theirs eventually decided to partly follow in the footsteps of the sage. He eventually went onto a battlefield were the Senju were using the Kyuubi as they had been doing since the sage had died. If you know what it is, it was why the first Uchiha developed the Susanoo, to counter the Biju. So he took the Kyuubi from the Senju and sealed it into himself so that it couldn't be used for their war. After that, he disappeared and no trace of him was seen until generations later. After the man disappeared he created a clan that inherited the long life of both clans. He created the Uzumaki clan. This son of the Uchiha and Senju was the first Uzumaki."

"So generations later his decedents appeared. Over time their relations with the Senju grew much faster than they did with the Uchiha. The Uchiha harbored resentment over the first Uzumaki taking away the only challenge the Senju could offer against the few of them that could manifest the Susanoo. Their honor kept them from using the advanced Sharingan ability. So they resented the Uzumaki because of it. It was also because the Uzumaki were descended from the woman who betrayed and left them. But, over time it stopped mattering as Konoha was eventually formed. The only problem the Uzumaki ever had with the Uchiha was that before the forming of Konoha, Madar Uchiha used a genjutsu to get the Kyuubi from its jinchuriki in Uzushiogakure. Afterward, though, it was sealed into Mito Uzumaki who had been married to Hashirama Senju in a political marriage. Eventually, they came to love each other, but that doesn't change why they were wed in the first place."

"Now, decades later Uzushio was feared by the entire world. But no one could lay a hand on them due to their relationship with Konoha. Until one day, Uzushio was tired of losing so many people to the death of wars that Konoha was a part of. They wanted power and political standing of their own. They agreed to send Konoha one more jinchuriki when Mito was near death, but after that, they said they would no longer be part of the leaf. Allied, but not part of as they were before. Konoha had no problem because they would still get aid seeing as how Uzu would still be an ally. Until Uzu tried to create an organization of their own. They tried getting the small surrounding countries to join them in what they called the Orb Union. They were going to stay out of any war that didn't concern them. They would defend and retaliate, and aid allies, but they would stay out of their wars. Even if they were allies. They were successful until they were destroyed. But let me tell you how that happened."

"One day, the third Hokage was pressed by other nations and his own council to take action against Uzu. Eventually, he caved and became part of the coordinated attack that destroyed my ancestral home and clan. Now that island country is behind an unbreakable barrier, beyond even my reach. But what else happened around that time? My mother, Kushina Uzumaki, was brought to Konoha to be the next Kyuubi container right before Uzushio was destroyed. And then, years later, she got married. Her husband was Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime." He saw the understanding on Sasuke's face.

"So then, one day a man in a mask, claiming to be Madara Uchiha, attacked when my mother was about to give birth. During childbirth, you see, the seal weakens. He used this opportunity to unseal the Kyuubi and use it to attack the village. But, my father drove him back and sealed the Kyuubi into me. He wanted me to be treated like a hero. You see how well his last wish worked out for him. But then my heritage was kept secret, from everyone. They didn't was Iwa or Kumo to come for the son of their most hated enemy."

"Now, tell me Sasuke, why I should not kill your friends when they tried to kill mine. The sound four for example. Why shouldn't I join a man who killed your clan when you have joined people who killed mine? Why can't I destroy the village responsible for the destruction of mine? Answer my question Sasuke and I shall tell you the truth behind the Uchiha massacre. Why can I not have my justice?"

"You and I are seeking the very same thing. You and I are the same. We are both motivated by our desire for justice. The justice I will deliver to Konoha will be no different then what you will try to do to me when I do it. You strive for your justice and I for mine. So now, answer my question. Why can I not have my justice? I want to know your answer."

Sasuke just laid there. After a few moments, he spoke. "I'm sorry Naruto. I didn't know. And now, I don't know what I should do." There was a pause.

Naruto gave a small, half-smirk, half-smile. "Now, I am going to tell you about the Uchiha massacre."

Before Naruto could speak again he was forced to jump away as not even a second later three shuriken passed through the space where his head used to be. Naruto and Sasuke looked at where they had come from. From there Kakashi came flying out of the trees before landing next to Sasuke. He didn't look good. Ge looked ragged, defeated, and tired. There were cuts and singes all over him, especially a large burn on his shoulder. He quickly knelt down and grabbed Sasuke before using a shunshin and disappearing. A second later Anko appeared.

"Anko! What happened!? I told you and the others to force him to retreat!"

"We tried. But just a moment ago he took a small fire jutsu to the shoulder and used the dust cloud that was created to make B-line straight for you. The others aren't in very good condition. We couldn't stop him in time. He did retreat, but I'm guessing by your reaction you didn't get the chance to finish."

Naruto shook his head. "No. no, I did not. This is not good. You said the others weren't in very good condition either?" She nodded. He sighed. "Fine. We can't change things now. Get them together and let's go home."

"You still haven't told me where this home is Naruto," Anko said. She could tell he was still in a bad mood over what had happened, but she wanted answers.

"Tell me Anko, have you ever heard of Uzushio?"

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ was now sitting at his desk with Kamaji, Anko, and the Uzu five.

Anko was contemplating everything Naruto had just told her. He had explained the history lesson he had told Sasuke as well as everything he had done since leaving Konoha. Kamaji already knew everything.

"So then, what do we do now?" Anko asked.

"Well, for now, I want to handle Yagura and one of the other Jinchuriki. There are also a few things I want to discuss. After that, we will gather people and grow before we try making a move again."

"First order of business though," Naruto said before pulling out a box. He handed it to Kamaji. "Kamaji, you told me you could handle some politics and during my stay in Mizu you handled things well. I'm going to trust you with everything from now on during times when I'm gone." He said as Kamaji opened the box. Inside was a red hoari with blue flames along the bottom and black lettering along the spine. The lettering was the kanji for Nidaime Uzukage. Kamaji was stunned.

"Why?"

"I can't stay here all the time like other Kages. What's the point of being so strong if you aren't on the front lines? How can a leader expect his followers to follow if he won't lead from the front with everyone else? I will still be Uzukage, but so will you. I need you to handle things here when I'm not here." Kamaji nodded in understanding.

"Now then, I think it's time to go talk with Yagura."

* * *

 _ **For**_ the first time in years, Yagura slowly opened his eyes as he felt something calling him back to consciousness. Before he cleared the fog from his eyes his memories came back. This included the last thing he remembered. The sharing casting him into a dark pit of illusion. He suddenly jerked up to try and defend himself. His panic rose, even more, when he realized that his chakra was suppressed and that he was tied down. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder. Then a voice. It felt so far away as he tried to hear the words.

"-down Yagura. Calm-. I need you to-. Yagura, you need to listen to-. –is no longer controlling you. Calm down and – help you understand."

Yagura slowly calmed down as his vision and hearing returned. It felt as though he hadn't used them in far too long. He blinked several times as an image of someone with red hair and blue eyes standing over him. If he looked hard enough it seemed that a golden blond was growing in at the base of the person's hair. Yagura was able to then realize that the person in front of him was only around fourteen. Then he spoke.

"Hello, Yagura. It has been a long time since you were awake. Sorry about tying you down. I thought you might react violently when you woke up and needed to take precautions."

"Why? The last thing I remember is the Sharingan."

"I figured that much. Listen, you have been in a genjutsu for the last few years."

The news shocked Yagura.

"I'm sorry to say this, but you were forced to do some things you come to hate yourself for later. I won't tell you now. I want you to understand that no matter how much you might feel so, you were not responsible for what happened. For now, you just need to get used to moving around again." He started to undo the restraints keeping Yagura down. "I'll give you an hour to prepare yourself and get used to being awake again. You have been asleep for a few years. By the way, my name is Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto said as he finished releasing the straps and then walking out of what now appeared to be a small hospital room.

As Naruto walked out of the room Yagura was staying in he was met with Kamaji.

"Naruto, I figured you might want to know that the people from Snow will be here soon."

"Good. After I'm done getting they and Yagura settled I'll go back to Mizu to finish things up there and get Hinata and Shino before I go retrieve the Nanabi jinchuriki. You got that file on them together for me, correct?"

"Yes, her name is Fuu. You already know where she is. Her village hates her, so you might want to go get her soon. The sooner, the more she will appreciate you."

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ was walking through Takigakure looking for Fuu. It had been a few days since he had greeted the people from Snow to help them settle in. some of them were not happy, others were indifferent but were fine about being there, and others were happy to see a new place, especially considering that it was the legendary Uzushio. Afterward, he had gone to finish everything in Mizu and bring back Hinata, Shino, and his Uzu nin. Zabuza and Haku had decided to stay in Kiri for the time being and help keep things in order. Afterward, Naruto had come back and talked Yagura through everything that had happened in the past years. He had explained how he was the Kyuubi Junchuriki. He also explained how he had resurrected Uzu and intended to destroy Konoha for their betrayal.

Naruto continued to search for the girl he was looking for as he walked down the streets. He had managed to sneak in as a civilian. It was easy seeing as how he looked nothing like his bingo book photo. As he walked he saw a sight that nearly made him want to kill everyone around him. He looked at a small alleyway where his target was laying on small layers of cardboard. He walked over to her and knelt down. She was unconscious, and not in good condition.

"Much like Gaara, you have suffered your own terrible fate. Do not worry, now I'm here to shatter the world that tries to make us suffer for the burdens we did not choose. Allow me to give you a gift." Naruto said before creating two clones. While he picked up Fuu and held her close to him his clones flanked him as he walked out of the alley. The moment he was back on the street people started staring at him. a few moments later he hit a wall of people.

"Where do you think you're going with the freak?" one of them asked.

"It doesn't concern you since you and anyone else in my way in the next five seconds are going somewhere else entirely," Naruto said with a blank face.

"And where would that be?"

"Your graves," Naruto said as his clones flashed through hand signs before activating their jutsu.

"Summoning!" they both shouted before the entire surrounding area was engulfed in smoke. When it cleared two large dragons now stood next to Naruto. One was a Japanese dragon that almost appeared to be coiled around itself. It had a green underbelly while the rest of it was red apart from its white mane behind its head. I also had dark blue eyes.

The other was a humanoid dragon that appeared to be wearing armor. It wore olden armor on its claws, both hands, and feet, as well as mostly black armor everywhere else. Its wings almost appeared to be metal feathered wings, with small purple and gold coloring closer to the body while the feathers at the end were a reddish-orange. Floating behind it by some invisible force was a golden, stylized disk.

Instantly everyone was running.

"Greeting my friends. These people have tortured the innocent I hold in my hands. I would like you to make them scream. Spare the children and any who are innocent. But, do so only in the immediate area. If you only leave children who are innocent they will suffer. Even if they are guilty, spare enough to care for the innocent." Naruto said before he continued walking. The two dragon summons quickly set to work destroying everything around them. As Naruto continued walking towards the exit he couldn't help but smirk as he heard their screams of horror at what was happening.

"Soon this world shall be pushed in the direction of justice. And if need be, I will make sure that push becomes a shove in the right direction. This entire world is about to change. Now all that's left is to finish the few tasks I have left and everything will be set."

* * *

 _ **A**_ few days after Kakashi and Sasuke, all that was left of the retrieval team returned Sasuke was standing in front of the council. He had just finished telling them everything he had been told. How Naruto had orchestrated the sound shinobi being freed, how he was Minato's and Kushina's son, and everything he had been told about the past behind the Uzumaki.

"Lies." Said one of the elders that always followed Danzo.

"No, I was there," said Tsunade. "Danzo, you know that the parts about Uzu being attacked are true. We were part of it, remember."

"How could I forget?" He said, sighing. "I was one of the people that pressured him into attacking. Though, now it seems as though that is coming back to bite us." He said, now contemplating what move he should make next.

"As for being the son of the Yondaime, it has to be impossible," Danzo said.

"Actually," Jiraiya said, "Minato's and Kushina's home has been missing from its property. Looked as though it was sealed into a scroll. He shouldn't have even known about it, let alone been able to get near it. As much as I hate to admit it, the possibility that he really is Minato's son gets larger every passing moment. And then there's the sound shinobi he has with him. Next time he will be stronger. I want to take Sasuke on a training trip. Naruto will be getting stronger, he needs to train as much as possible."

"I agree." Said Tsume. "He needs to be taken down for what he did to my son."

"And he will," Tsunade said.

After the meeting was over Sasuke walked out quickly. He wondered if he had made the correct choice in not telling them that Naruto was about to tell them about the truth behind the Uchiha Massacre. He still didn't trust them, but he did need them.

 _ **The**_ Akatsuki were once again gathered on the fingertips of the statue.

"I will now be changing the teams to a degree." Said the leader. "Sasori, from now on you will be partnered with Kakazu to replace Hidan."

"Hey! What about me?!" Deidara asked.

"You will be partnered with our newest member." Pain said as a man in the regular Akatsuki cloak and an orange mask appeared.

The man in the mask spoke in a high pitched childish voice as he flung his arms around and spun in place.

"Oh boy! Oh boy! I can't wait to start working with you Deidara-senpai! WOOO!" As he finished he spun downward into a sitting position on the finger he was designated for. Deidara sweatdropped as he looked at pain with a face that asked if he was serious and pointed at the new member.

"You can't be serious. This guy is an S-rank missing-nin?"

Pain nodded.

"Now, we have a problem that we need to discuss."

"What is it now? First Orochimaru, then the Kyuubi brat, now what?" asked Kisame.

"Actually, it is still the Kyuubi. It took work, but we were able to confirm that a man going by Uzukage was in Kiri. He helped end the war there and took the Sanbi with him. It took a lot of work on the part of our intelligence network, but we were able to confirm that the Kyuubi was the Uzukage. Then, a man matching the Uzukage's description attacked Takigakure."

"Hmm. Perhaps I should thank him for that." Kakazu interrupted.

"As I was saying. He took the Nanabi with him. Then he disappeared as he did after leaving Konoha. This is a problem. They must be found. No matter how many of the Biju we get, it won't matter without those three. You are dismissed for now. I want them found."

As Itachi faded away he couldn't help but give a small smirk at how much trouble Naruto was causing.

* * *

 _ **Chronicle**_ was laying down as he started to remember some of his time with his mentor. As the scene came into focus he drifted off to relive the moment in his mind.

 _ **The**_ boy had been living with the woman for a long time now. The woman had white hair, blue eyes, wearing a long black trench coat, black pants, and a white shirt that exposed part of her midsection.

Originally she would not treat him like an orphan or adopted child, but rather orders him around like her assistant, and sexually harasses him on numerous occasions. However, as the years passed and he grew, she had become a morally questionable guardian for him. He had been living with her for eight years, and now the results were ready to show.

They never used names. It was never needed because it was just the two of them. However, as they were gearing up they were about to give each other identities for the first time.

They had been hired to do a job, but against their wishes were to join a team on said mission.

"Alright, while working with these guys we will be working with code names." She said.

"Alright," he responded, "I will go by the designation Chronicle."

"Nice," she said while giving a smile, "You can call me Natalia Kaminski."

* * *

 _ **Chronicle**_ shot up out of his bed and across the room to a small table with a book on it. He opened it before clicking a pen and writing down on one of the blank pages. Every page was filled in with memories he had written down to keep from forgetting them.

He had long ago forgotten why he had called her Natalia before he had left, and the memory always stopped before she said her code name. That was why. That was the missing piece.

He jotted it down before closing the book and walking over to a chair that he proceeded to slump down into.

He picked up a small, glass cup sitting on a stump of a table next to the chair. The cup was empty, but that didn't matter as he hurled it across the room. The shattered pieces went everywhere due to the sheer force behind the throw.

"One year. It has "been an entire year since I remembered something new. I wonder if I will ever remember my name." he muttered to himself. He knew that he shouldn't care that much, but it was the one thing he had forgotten that was important to him. His name was all he had left of his parents. But that wasn't why he cared. It simply infuriated him that all he could go by now was Chronicle. He had tried to call himself other names, to adopt a name and live a normal life, but Chronicle was the only other name in his life that was important to him.

"But, then what do I do? I can't remember, and it will probably never come to me. So why can't I move on." But then a thought came to him. He sighed. "I guess it's exactly because I can't remember that I can't let it go."

He closed his eyes before drifting back off into sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Naruto**_ was sitting down in one of the chairs in his personal library as he closed his eyes to enter his mindscape. When he entered, the Kyuubi was silent. He already knew that Naruto wasn't there for him. Naruto was there for the figure standing in the shadows.

"I take it that you are the one that was talking in my mind before. During that moment with Hinata." Naruto said. He could see the figure shift. It was nodding.

"Well, then I think I understand. I really am walking a thin line if you're here. So then tell me. What part are you?"

The figure chuckled. "Think about my words. It should be obvious."

Naruto thought for a moment before he chuckled as well. "I guess you're right. It should have been completely obvious. The moment I break, you'll make your move. Am I right?"

The figure nodded. "The moment you so much as crack I will be there."

"I guess I should be careful from now on then," Naruto said before fading away.

 _ **Naruto**_ walked into the hospital room that Fuu was sleeping in. When he walked in he saw Yagura sitting in a chair next to her. Naruto hadn't expected him to still be there, as he was a few hours ago.

"I expected you to have gone to unpack some of your belongings in your new home," Naruto said as Yagura looked up at the new entrant.

"Yes, but I've been watching our newest friend. There is something I need to say my friend."

"It took me a long time to become respected in my village. It took me saving it from destruction multiple times just for them to stop hating me. And yet, you, the sand Jinchuiki and she got the worst of it. I was able to keep tabs on the jinchuriki from the other villages. The ones from Iwa are feared and are not respected. The ones from Kumo are actually treated quite well for Jinchuriki. Over the years they have reached rather good positions of respect in their own villages, but some still fear them. None are ever brave enough to attack them though because one of them is the brother of the Raikage." Yagura said.

"I will accept your terms of becoming an Uzu shinobi so long as you agree to bring all of the Jinchuriki together. We all know the pain of the Jinchuriki's burden. So I want you to bring them all together, in a place where they will get the respect they deserve for protecting people. Bring together the Jinchuiki." Yagura finished.

"Your only stipulation for joining me is what I was already going to do? I accept." Naruto said as he sat down next to Yagura. "I will tell you what I told Fuu as I carried her out of her retched village. She was unconscious but I told her anyway. Do not worry now, I'm here to shatter the world that tries to make us suffer for the burdens we did not choose.'"

"Know this, Yagura, I will change this world into one of justice. One where we don't have to suffer the cruelty of those who cannot see past their own fear. Do not worry, I will keep my word. I will shatter this current world. Later on, I would like it if you helped me put together all the information on the Jinchuriki. I will bring them together." Naruto said.

Yagura nodded, pleased with his answer.

"We should wake her up now. The jinchuriki need to come together, as they should have a long time ago. Things have hindered us though."

"What do you mean?"

Naruto sighed. "I mean that the jinchuriki should be united and that things like those that hate us have hindered such a thing from happening. I intend for us to take up positions of power, that way we can truly stop the suffering this world has tried to inflict on us and itself. Now let's wake her." Yagura hesitated. The look in Naruto's eyes screamed the determination at what he was going to do.

"I thought you told this Chronicle person that you didn't even intend on remaining as the Uzukage once you accomplish your goals."

"Chronicle's views and goals are too simple. I will do what it takes to keep his help until I no longer need it. I do intend on bringing peace and justice to the world like I told him, but the position of power part was a lie. The Jinchuriki need power to ensure that this world doesn't suffer, and that our eventual successors do not either. And while I can see the man's point of view, I will kill him if he gets in my way. The man's goals are good, trying to change the world for the better, but I must do what can to see my overall plans come to fruition."

"I believe I'm starting to understand a little bit more. But I have a question for you first. Why do you think we never left our villages? We have suffered so much at their hands, yet we always stayed. Why?"

"The answer is simple Yagura, we had no other place to go. We were brought up to believe it was our duty to protect our homes. Our villages. Now the world will be shown the folly of its actions against us. Now, let's wake her."

Yagura nodded as Naruto place a hand on the back of her neck. A seal appeared before fading away. It was a seal meant to keep people resting when they needed it. It took a few moments before Fuu started to groan in protest to being woken. However, when she realized that she was no longer in the hard, damp, cold, and dark ally, but in a soft, warm, dry bed in a lit room she nearly shot up. She had led a miserable life but still had practiced in the shinobi arts. Her first thought was to assess the situation, but the stiffness in her limbs, ache in her bones, and hand on her shoulder kept her from going back into the mattress she was laying on. She looked around and saw the two standing over her.

"Where am I?" her voice was soft, but cracked and coarse at the same time due to her throat being so dry. She felt a cup come to her lips. Her first instinct was to refuse the drink that could be poisoned, but her much larger instincts for survival and the need to feel the cold liquid at her lips enter her throat over rid the first instinct and she drank the water being offered her.

"Hello, Fuu. My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and this is Yagura. We are your friends. Just calm down and I will explain." Naruto said. "You no longer have to worry about the village that made you suffer, my friend."

She looked at him with a questioning look.

"First of," he said with an amused look, "I destroyed a good portion of your village as we left It." he saw the look of horror in her face at what she had just heard.

"You destroyed my village?"

"That place is no longer your home. Do not cling to that place simply because you don't believe you have nowhere else to go. That leads me to my second thing. You are no longer in your old village. You are now home. Not this room of course, but my village. Our village. Come with me and I will explain." Naruto said as he helped her out of the bed. She felt stiff, but the feeling was starting to return as she stood up and moved. After she took the time to get her bearings and eat some food, Naruto took her and Yagura to the Uzukage tower before they used a lift to take them to the roof. When they got there he led them to the edge where they looked out.

"I should probably give you a more formal introduction. I am Naruto Namikaze Uzumaki, Kyuubi jinchuriki, and the Shodaime Uzukage." He chuckled at her look of shock. "Welcome to Uzushiogakure. Now then, how would you like to know how and why I intend to shatter the world?"

 _ **Konan**_ walked through the halls of the tower in Ame. She had something to discuss with her friend. As she entered the office of Pain, Tendo Pain, the primary path that Nagato used to represent himself, turned to greet her. She walked passed him and entered into two double doors to see Nagato standing there, albeit shakily. The more Pains in use, the harder it became for him to move. That was why he was a throne with large legs. When all six pains were in use he would use it to move around.

"Konan," he said, looking up at her with his Rinnegan, "Is there something you need?"

She stopped in front of him. "I wanted to talk with you. It's about the goals of the Akatsuki." She placed a hand on his shoulder and her voice became softer. "We long ago decided to support Yahiko in ending war and suffering in this world. Not only that, but this Naruto Uzumaki stopped the war in Mizu in less than a month. He is also part of your clan Nagato. I think we should rethink some of our goals. Think about what we could do with him on our side."

Nagato grimaced. "I have been thinking about those things Konan. But I don't know. Think of how far we have come with this ideal. We are so close to doing it. All we need is for the final preparations to be made and then go capture them. And yet, I have to wonder if this is right. I have to wonder what I should do."

"Nagato, while I want you to reconsider, I will always stand by you. You know that." He nodded at her words.

"We shall see." He said. "There may come a time when the current me might want you to kill the me that I become."

 _ **A**_ few weeks after getting Fuu back on her feet and training with her and Yagura, Naruto stood in his office with a grim expression on his face. While he knew he was strong, he was not so foolish as to believe that he could stand against Jiraiya and/or Tsunade in a one on one fight.

"I want to shatter this world, and yet I can't even shatter those two. Well, as Uzugakure grows, so will I. he turned away from the windows and walked to his desk. He looked at Fuu and Yagura standing in front of his desk before asking them to leave and then biting both of his thumbs before taking a few moments to wield individual seals. He placed his hands to the desk as smoke filled the room. On one side sat the small form of the elder toad, Fukasaku. On the other floated a Japanese dragon about half of Naruto's size. The dragon seemed to have a slight wrinkle to his face with an aged expression. It had golden eyes, a white mane of hair with black streaks flowing through it came down from the horned ridge at the back of the dragon's head. Its skin was a dark blue with a grey underbelly. When the dragon spoke it commanded great authority but sounded like the voice of a calm and wise old man.

"Hello, Naruto. How have things been going with the young Fuu you told us about?" the dragon spoke.

"They have been going well, as has the village Ryu. Things are going at a decent pace, though I fear that the traitorous Konoha will not fall for a few years. My allies are still recuperating, and I am too small to fight the world alone, even with your help. That is actually the reason I called you both here. You have told me about the sage mode, and I have read the things you gave me and that I found in the Uzu libraries. When Jiraiya uses sage mode he takes on toad-like features, and then there have been others that have taken on other features depending on the clan they studied under. In the past, those who managed to achieve sage mode for the snakes approached a dragon-like state in the most uncontrolled versions. Throughout all of my findings, when they achieve full control they are left with some of the best attributes. There aren't many enhancements a human being can undergo when using the toad sage mode apart from the eyes, but when in water those using this mode also grow webbed fingers and toes to enhance movement. So I would like it if you could tell me about the differences in sage modes." Naruto said before removing his Uzukage robe and sitting down.

Fukasaku spoke up. "So, you want to start training in the sage arts?"

"Yes. A large portion of Jiraiya's strength comes from the sage mode. I will need to counter him, blow for blow. So yes, I would like to start training in the arts."

Ryu spoke up this time. "It has to do with the environment. The differences you spoke of. The flow of natural energy differs in the different places that the summons live. In Ryuchi Cave the energy slithers around and strikes as if the chakra that makes up the place is a snake itself. On Mount Myoboku it jumps from one place to another, rarely staying still for even a moment, or it swims as though the toads themselves were swimming. At the great cliffs of the birds, the energy flies through the air gracefully and glides on the wind. In the mountains of the elements where the dragons dwell the energy flies like at the cliffs of the aviaries, but there it is more fierce and graceful on the wind and on the land."

Fukasaku continued the explanation. "It is the way the body learns to use natural energy. As the body learns to channel the nature energy through itself it starts to take on features that come with the way the energy flows. The less control you have while trying to channel the energy of Mount Myoboku the more toad-like you become the same for the other places of the summons. It all has to do with the way the chakra flows in nature, and through the body."

Naruto sat there thinking. Then he spoke a question that had occurred to him. "What if one was to learn to channel the flow of two different contracts?"

Ryu chuckled before continuing. "I was once summoned by an Uzumaki so that an experiment of his friend could be recorded. Said Uzumaki was also able to use the contract of the bears. His friend on the other hand, held the contracts of the snakes and the crows. They had both gone through the exceedingly difficult task of forcing their bodies to channel the natural energy in multiple directions, but only one at a time. The friend, however, tried to take it further. Ha had mastered the snake and crow. This gave him amazing flexibility, the senses of a snake, and an extra head that belonged to a snake coming from his lower back for the snake contract. Scales would grow around his eyes, along his forearms, and around the small of his back where the snake emerged from his back. When using the crows his face would be framed by large, dark feathers that also formed a mane around his head and down his back. The feathers would also go down his arms leading to the claws his hands would become. From his back would sprout large wings belonging to a crow. The wings would grow to a point where they slightly merged with his shoulders. He was magnificent with both of the sage modes, but had decided to take it to further and attempt to channel both flows at once."

"It was successful at first as he started to grow the scales and the feathers, then the wings and snake tail. It was magnificent to watch as he became a new and powerful force all his own. He created something new that day. Unfortunately, the stress ripped his body apart. He didn't survive. His body couldn't handle the stress of all that natural energy going in two different directions."

"Could I ask what clan he was from?" Naruto asked.

"He was from no clan. Just an incredibly rare source of brilliance."

"And what of the Uzumaki?"

"The Uzumaki that was there with him mourned the loss of his friend and decided to carry on his experiments. He pushed his own body to the limits by performing partial usage of the combination flows. His Uzumaki body was able to handle the stress a lot more. He was even able to maintain a full combination for a few seconds." Ryu finished.

"What happened to him?" Naruto asked.

"He eventually left Uzushio with his wife. But, one day, years later after he had had children, a group of bandits attacked him and he warded them off. He had challenged them and they didn't like it. The next day a small army of bandits came to his door and tried to kill his family. He summoned me himself, and we burned them alive. But these bandits had used some of their wealth to hire ronin and missing-nin. These bandits had their hands in almost everything in that region. The man was brilliant but even he couldn't stand alone and protect his family. He saw his son and daughter and wife dragged out of their home." Ryu said, becoming solemn. "We watched as his wife had her throat slit. He lost it and rushed into a combined sage mode. His arms became like those of bears, but with the claws of a dragon. His neck extended slightly as scales grew along his neck and on his face. He grew fur along ridges that grew at the back of his head. Large wings came from his back, as did a large tail with spikes and ridges along it. Fur grew in patches as his teeth extended and he became more feral in appearance. He let loose a roar that I swear shook the ground before rushing to his children and surrounding them with his wings before breathing a wave of fire that wiped out everything near him. The remaining bandits and such retreated. After that, the group of bandits collapsed because he had killed most of their high ranked members, as well as most of their members in general."

"He had saved his children, but at the cost of his own life. His body was able to handle the stress for a time, but he pushed himself to the limit and beyond. It cost him more than it should have. He laid dying and his last words were for his children to live. They were in shock at what had happened, couldn't move. I was forced to take them to another location and leave them in the care of some other people. I don't know what happened to them though. I'm sorry to say that I couldn't find them after that. When I went back for them the place was destroyed and I couldn't find them. It fills me with sadness even now."

Naruto nodded. "How long ago was this?"

"The event with the two children being moved was about twenty years ago. Uzushio was destroyed eleven years by that point though. Why?"

"I was wondering something. How old were the two children?"

"The sister was nine, the brother eight. They should be twenty-nine and eight now. The brother would only be about twice your age at this point. It seems so long ago, yet your parents were still alive back then. It was only six years before you were born."

Naruto nodded. "Thank you for the story, my friend. Do you have any of the Uzumaki's research?"

"Yes, I will get them for you soon enough. Though I assume that you will be unique in the fact that your regeneration abilities and Uzumaki blood will allow you to withstand it for a longer period of time."

"Thank you for your words. I will talk to you later then. Also, before you go. I wanted to know about the other five valid names still on the contract besides my own. I know that one is my grandfather Kamaji, but what about the others?"

"I knew you would," Ryu said. "Two of them are the two offspring. I have been unable to reverse summon the brother because while they have a connection to the contract, they have yet to try to summon a dragon, therefore they have yet to establish a complete connection to us. So, for now, it's not something I can do. But the sister, I did manage to eventually find. But they have told me not to reveal them to anyone else. The brother is still lost to me. The third is your grandfather. The fourth... I have a theory, but I don't know yet because he is in the same boat as the first brother. The other one," he thought for a moment, "The fifth name..... Roku Uzumaki..... should not be possible. I have no clue why that name is still on the list. It should have become invalid long ago. I will look into it. Other than that, I will talk with you later." Ryu said before he disappeared.

"So, Fukasaku, what do you plan to do now?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto-boy, I intend to help you. Just like I told you I would before. Don't worry when you give the word Jiraiya will lose our help."

"Yes, now remember, even if he is using you to fight me you cannot leave him until I give the word. Promise me that. I want to see him crushed and defeated as his entire world drops out from under all at once. I ask that you not act until I give the word."

Fukasaku nodded before he disappeared as well.

Naruto stood up and looked out over what he could see of the island nation. "I wonder what's going to happen now. What will you other dragon summoners do? And you, Roku Uzumaki. Ryu seemed shocked that your name was still there. So why, who are you people?" he smirked. "It would seem that the jinchuriki aren't the only people I need to gather."

 _ **'**_ _ **So** staying dead didn't work. I wonder what degree I will need to influence events once again to keep this world from going into chaos. Though, I guess I have stopped doing what I promised my parents and myself. I have not kept the peace. I have left this world to rot so long as it does not cause chaos. I should probably come back and truly intervene in the events of the world.'_ The white-robed man thought to himself. He was sitting down against a wall with his black sword in his lap, and his long green hair over his shoulders so that it didn't touch the ground or wall.

He saw a small blaze open up in front of him as he stood up. "I wondered when you would call me." He said before the blaze opened to reveal an ornate, red door with nothing behind it. He opened it and walked through before the door disappeared. He looked around to find himself in a massive underground chamber with several doors of varying sizes and qualities.

"Why here of all places Ryu?"

"Because I wasn't the only one that wanted to talk to you Roku."

He looked up to see Ryu sitting in front of the Great Dragon Sage. The sage was immense in size and stature. It looked exceedingly old, and yet kept the air of authority that matched his immense size and even greater power. The dragon had the horns of a stag, sharp teeth, green skin with a light underbelly, red eyes, a long serpentine body with his tail taking up three-fourths of his length, long flowing whiskers, a long snout, and flowing green hair on his cheeks. He seemed to coil around himself as he shifted to come down to eye level with Roku.

"It has been a long time." The fierce voice said. It was deep and menacing, though calm and soothing at the same time.

"Yes, it has my old friend. So, I assume you want to know how I'm still alive."

"That is correct."

"I don't know why you are so shocked considering my lineage. I would have expected you to know better old man." Roku said, teasing the friend that was only older than him by a few dozen centuries. "I told you before when we last fought together Shenron, it will take more to kill me than even you would expect."

"Yes, yes you did. So tell me, why return after so long? I can see it. We only found you because you wanted to be found."

"Things are shifting. My old village is back on the rise with this Uzukage. I think it's about time I got back to my duties and the great sage's successor." He said as the color in his hair started to liquefy, and then flow from is hair onto the ground. He now looked younger with his dark red hair going down to his waist as it seemed more vibrant than before.

"Now then, what can you tell me about this new Uzumaki?"

 _ **Naruto**_ was walking down the streets of Konoha with his black traveling cloak concealing his features. He was in the same clothing he had used before when combating Sasuke. Instead of rushing, he was walking towards the Hokage's office at a leisurely pace after having left a note for the Tsume and Hana to head to the Hokage's office. It was only a few more moments before he was at the tower and in front of the office door. The secretary tried to stop him before he simply walked in to see Tsume and Hana trying to figure out why Tsunade had summoned them.

"I didn't tell you to- who are you?" Tsunade said as he walked in.

Naruto noticed that Sasuke was standing in a corner of the room, Sakura was standing next to him. No doubt Sasuke was waiting for more news about him. Sakura was no doubt trying to win Sasuke over as per usual.

"Well, I think that you should know me quite well," Naruto said before the secretary came after him.

"I'm sorry Lady Hokage. I tried to stop him."

"It's fine. According to him I know him." Tsunade said, waving for the assistant to leave. The secretary closed the door on the way out.

Naruto pulled away his hood to show his face. Everyone was too shocked to move except Tsunade who was instantly over her desk to rush him. In less than a second Sakura sook her own shock, and was behind him to do the same thing. Tsunade was at him with her fist raised. The fist made contact with his face before phasing through it and impacting Sakura's face instead. Sakura was instantly flying through the door. The Hokage was then on the other side of Naruto with a stunned look on her face.

"What's wrong, _Lady Hokage_?" Naruto said, sarcasm in his voice as he said her title. "Did you think I would come here in person? Or did you expect my bunshin to be solid as usual? No, a non-solid one fits my purposes nicely."

"When did you gain the control to perform a basic bunshin?" Tsunade asked.

"Irrelevant. What is relevant is why I brought Hana and Tsume here."

"That was you?" Tsume asked, her hatred dripping from her voice. She knew that trying to kill him wouldn't work.

"Yes. Now, when I killed Kiba he did ask me to relay his last words."

Tsume tried to punch him. Her hand was in a wall the next second after phasing through him. She removed it easily enough.

Naruto sprouted a smile on his face. He was happy to embellish what came next. His main goal was to throw them off as much as possible. Blind them with their rage.

"After he begged for his life," Naruto said as the smile became diabolical, "after I burnt him alive, he told me to tell you that he was sorry he didn't stay alive as he promised you. He was pathetic as he begged for his life in his last moments. I was merciful and decapitated him, I gave him the death he begged for. As my sword came down he thanked me!" Naruto said before chuckling.

"SHUT UP!" Hana shouted.

Naruto stopped chuckling before his face became serious. "Tell me why I should listen to orders given to me by pathetic people like you and Kiba and Tsume. You are all so pathetic. And if you think you can command me, I will not hesitate to kill you."

"SHUT UP!"

What happened next was so shocking that no one could stop it until it was too late.

There was a distortion in the air as Naruto rushed forward with a tanto in his hand. He grabbed Hana by the neck before pulling her to her knees. He was instantly behind her before diving the blade into the base of her skull, only for it to come out of her left eye. She was dead before her body hit the ground. The silence passed for only a moment before Tsume screamed and collapsed to her knees. Her hand was stretched towards her daughter's lifeless form.

Her voice was hollow, broken, and showed how much she was trying not to cry. "How? How could you do something like this? How?" she said as her arm fell to her side.

"Are you asking me how I did it when I was a basic bunshin, or are you asking how I could have the heart to kill her like that right in front of you? I'll tell you both. First, did you not expect me to take precautions against anything that could happen? I have planned things out most of my life, this was easy. You were too blinded by your rage at me to ask how a basic bunshin opened the door. That should have given me away. I had a solid bunshin enter the room, but by the time you noticed it the solid and non-solid had already made the switch. Then it was only a matter of the solid one coming back in from its hiding place."

"As for how I could do that to her and you, I wanted to. She wouldn't stop trying to command me. I warned her. But then, you did betray me Tsume. Your clan was happy to watch me burn after I had kept the Kyuubi at bay all those years. I was only happy to stand here and watch as you die on the inside. No children. No heirs. All alone."

She was at him in a moment. She had him pinned to the wall by his neck.

"This won't kill you, but you will still get the memories of having your throat ripped out!" she said as she raised her hand to rip his neck open.

"And what of my parents?" Naruto said, causing her to falter.

"They died because of the sins of this village. They died because this village wiped out the Uzumaki clan. Imagine how much easier the Kyuubi would have been contained if a few extra Uzumaki had been alive, trying to contain him? I really don't think you understand. One day this village will burn for all of its sins." Naruto said before breaking Tsume's grip and charging at Sasuke with another blade.

He was caught by the wrist by Tsunade before having his arm broken and being thrown into the wall. Sasuke looked panicked at what just happened.

"You keep saying I'm your friend, but you keep trying to kill me," Sasuke said with a shaky voice.

"Once again you misunderstand my friend. I'm not trying to kill you." Naruto said with a smile on his face. "What would I do without you? Go back to tormenting Tsume over there? No. No, no. You, complete me. HAHAHA!" Naruto stopped laughing and sighed.

"Tell me Naruto, am I really your friend? I'm starting to think you really are nothing but a monster."

"Don't talk like one of them, you're not! Even if you'd like to be. To them, you're just a freak, like me. They need you right now. But when they don't, they'll cast you out, like a leper. See, their morals, their code... it's a bad joke. Dropped at the first sign of trouble. They're only as good as the world allows them to be. I'll show you, when the chips are down, these... these civilized people? They'll eat each other. See, I'm not a monster, I'm just ahead of the curve." Naruto sighed. "Do not trust these people Sasuke. Not one bit. You will one day learn the truth I promised you."

At the end of his words, Tsunade leaned down, gripped him by the neck and slammed him into the wall.

"Tell me where you are so I can come down there and kill you myself?!"

Naruto laughed with insanity leaking into the laughter. "You have nothing, nothing to threaten me with! Nothing to do with all your strength!" He laughed even more. "I wasn't trying to kill Sasuke, I wanted to see what you would do. And you didn't disappoint. But you know what, I really don't feel like having those memories of you killing me. So, for now, I bid you farewell." Naruto said before he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Tsume punched the wall as Sasuke fell to his knees.

' _What's happening? How could things have gotten like this?'_ Sasuke thought to himself.

"AAAHHHH!" Tsunade screamed in frustration. "Someone get Sakura out of the hall to the hospital! Tell me if I broke anything and I'll fix it myself!"

' _I'm going to need to train her like Jiraiya is going to be training Sasuke.'_ Tsunade thought to herself.

 _ **Naruto**_ stood on the docks as another ship came in. The first ship had carried fifty of their new members, this one was here to give them the rest. Naruto stood there with Hinata and Shino at his sides, as well as Karin and Kamaji behind him. He had gotten word that some of these new members of the new Orb Union were going to have bloodlines. Kekkei Genkai. He wondered what these new people would bring to him. They were only slightly above his level and that excited him. They were new additions to his force, and they would be valued.

Before they got there he had received a scroll from Koyuki with some of their bios. Most of them were ninja. The first was Bi-Han. Bi-Han wore all black clothes. His pants, the light armor strapped to his leg below the knee, his shoes, his long sleeve shirt, the light armor strapped to his forearms, his gloves, the armor he wore over his torso and just over his shoulders, the armored flap hanging down to just above his knees, the hood over his head, and the armored mask that covered all but his eyes which were completely white. The eyes looked as though a white haze drifted through them.

The man had an exceedingly powerful mother from the Nara clan. Grandmother had left Konoha before his mother was born and had stayed in Snow. He had eventually trained under her to perfect his shadow abilities to the point that he could control them so well that it was more apt to say that he controlled the darkness itself. His abilities had eventually surpassed his mother's, and then he had left home with his brother to live in Uzu.

Bi-Han's brother was Kuai Liang. While Bi-Han had trained under their mother, Kuai Liang had trained under their father to hone his abilities with ice. His father had been from the Yuki clan and had escaped Mizu during the purge. Kuai Liang dressed similarly to his older brother, however, there were differences. First was that his clothes were blue instead of black apart from his pants and undershirt. Another difference was that the only thing covering his arms was the stylized metal armor that was strapped to his upper arms, the black, fingerless gloves, as well as the stylized metal armor that went over his gloves and was strapped to his forearms by blue cloth strips. There was also stylized armor over his lower legs, as well as on the large belt around his waist.

Another fact that Naruto found interesting was that they often went by the code names Noob Saibot and Sub Zero, respectively.

The next one on the list was Hanzo Hasashi. Not to be mistaken for Hanzo the Salamander, he often went by the name Scorpion. Though his nickname came from the armor he was often wearing. The armor plating over his torso was a deep yellow, with multiple serrated plates that ended in a pointed flap hanging down to his knees. The armor on his torso also had two jagged pieces going along his ribs on both sides. There were also two large points going up his shoulders. In the middle of his chest there was a large, black crystal framed by his dark yellow armor.

Both of his arms were bare apart from the black, leather gauntlets with dark yellow metal rings segmenting them and large blades on the sides. His left arm had a dark yellow band with a diamond pattern wrapped around the upper part of it. His shoulders were covered in black cloth that slightly jutted out. Over that there were two jagged spikes coming over his shoulders next to his neck that was made of the dark yellow metal. His pants were black and appeared to be made of strips of cloth wrapped around him. His boots were made of the dark yellow metal in serrated segments. He had a black hood over his head with a dark yellow, a metal mask covering most of his face.

He also had four swords. The first two were on his back with the handles coming up over his shoulders. The blades themselves were jagged. The other two blades were at his hips. The blades on his hips were both katanas with yellow, metal stingers on the pommels, yellow handles with black strips wrapped around them. The guard of the sword was in the shape of a stylized figure eight. The guard was black with a yellow frame, stylized yellow lines around the middle, and blades around it. The scabbard of the blades was black with dark yellow metal on the end of it.

Scorpion had come to Uzu with Sub Zero and his brother because he had originally thought that the brothers had slaughtered his clan. However, the brothers had revealed that someone else had been the cause of the massacre. The three had worked together to find and kill the person. Once this was done, Scorpion had offered his thanks and services to the brothers because they had helped him avenge his clan.

When the fifty new members of the Orb Union were off the ship they stood in front of Naruto as he introduced them to their new home.

"Welcome. I hope you all enjoy your time here in your new village. My friend Karin here," Naruto said as he gestured behind him to Karin standing behind him, "will show you to your new homes once we get back to the village." Naruto said before he turned around and started to walk back towards the village with his new villagers in tow.

' _Now, with this place growing it will only be a matter of time now.'_ Naruto thought to himself as a smile graced his face. He then felt the bunshin sent to Konoha disperse before his smile grew.

' _You know, that was really screwed up of you. Perhaps you're becoming more like me. I might not have to make a move when you break.'_ He heard in his mind.

' _Well, until such time as you have something useful to say, or you make your move, I would like it if you stayed quiet.'_ Naruto thought towards the voice.

' _Whatever.'_ It responded.

 _ **Kakuzu**_ and Sasori were walking on a road surrounded by trees, heading towards the mission they had been hired to build funds for the Akatsuki. Kakazu was trying to restrain himself from killing Sasori. Sasori was trying to convert Kakazu to his religion of puppets. He stopped for a moment to start bashing his head into a tree.

' _I...traded an immortal idiot who kept trying to convert me...for a non-immortal trying to convert me. Only this time, I was ordered not to try and kill this one.'_

 _ **It**_ had been three and a half years since Naruto had gone to Konoha to incite what rage he could. Over the years he had started working on the sage mode for the toads of Moyoboku and mastered it in little over four months. Training under the dragon sages had been a different matter though. It had taken him a month just to start channeling the chakra in the manner of the dragons of the Elemental Mountains.

There, the elements could shift in such ways that it took seeing them for Naruto to start believing he might have lost his mind. Giant rocks floated in the air, water could be breathed, the ice could burn you alive, and the fire freeze you, and the land itself swallow you alive. It was magnificent.

However, his training was still far from perfect as Naruto had yet to master the full sage mode. When he tried entering it he became more reptilian than human, and some of his animalistic side took over, becoming harder to control himself.

Over time he had grown taller, his voice had changed, his hair gad grown out to though the bottoms of his shoulder blades. This gave him the appearance of having a spike mane. He had, of course, cut away the red when his hair was grown enough. Now he wore his Uzu Hitai-ate on his forehead, though he usually kept it hidden when he left the village.

He had not been the only one to shed disguises as Hinata had cut away the dyed hair and then let it grow down to her waist. She had also removed her contacts. Shino had not changed much apart from getting taller.

Another thing that had progressed was his training with Kurama, his team, and his fellow jinchuriki. He had gotten to the point that he could call forth the three-tailed state of Kurama's power while still maintaining perfect control. So for, however, he had hit a roadblock at controlling the four tailed state. Fuu and Yagura were much further along as over time they had managed to convince their own tenants to open up to them. While they had not gotten along with them all the time, the Biju were sometimes cooperative. They didn't give them full control, nor had their Jinchuriki removed the locks that restrained their tenants, but the Biju in Fuu and Yagura would often allow them to use the full extent of their version two modes. Naruto currently had only the capabilities of his most powerful version one state.

With his friends, Naruto had made great progress to ensure that they were exceedingly powerful on the battlefield. The strategy Naruto came up with was meant for restraining enemies easily. Its only flaw was that it required his enemies to underestimate him, and once that was gone it was worthless without the element of surprise.

However, that was unimportant at the moment as Naruto's sage training was not the only thing he had learned over the years. Over time he had focused plenty of time on the contents of the forbidden scroll. He had prepared himself for what was to come and was ready to test the extent of his new power.

Naruto was standing in a shadowed room as he flew through the necessary hand signs. When he finished he slammed them to the ground with a smile on his face. The smile only grew with the sound of the ground cracking. He stood up with his own forbidden scroll on his back. The scroll was large with two golden dragon heads on the ends. His enhanced vision saw everything clearly as it emerged and the figure stood there.

"Naruto!? How-?"

"-Are you here? Well, if you look around I think you will find the answer staring you in the face."

"The forbidden scroll? No, that's different."

"Yes, it is. On the day of the forbidden scroll incident, you missed me strip the scroll of everything I could. It now resides in the forbidden scroll of Uzushiogakure."

"I see. So that's how- Did you say Uzushiogakure?"

"Yes I did. And now, because of your mistakes, I will force you to watch as my new home burns yours to the ground. You see, they betrayed me."

"What do you mean? Uzu was destroyed. And what do you mean they betrayed you? I thought that I-"

"You did try to fix it, but I never told them. I wanted to see what they would do, and they didn't disappoint. Now, as for Uzu. It was destroyed, now I shall destroy your home as you did mine. It is now rebuilt and ready to act."

"I see. So is that why-"

"No. Not yet. First, you must witness as I tear down their world in the most perfect way possible. I will give them hope. You will watch as I dangle hope before them before I snatch it away and step on their necks. I will torture them, but not of their bodies, of their souls. I will make stopping me seem so easy... So simple... And like shipwrecked men turning to sea water from uncontrollable thirst, many will die trying. I learned back in Konoha that there can be no true despair without hope. The hope I had that I could become Hokage and change their view of me. So, as I terrorize Konoha, I will feed its people hope to poison their souls like they did to me. I will let them believe they can survive so that you can watch them clamoring over each other to 'stay in the sun.' You can watch me torture an entire hidden village, and when you have truly understood the depth of your failure, I will fulfill my word, I will destroy Konoha and then, when it is done and Konoha is ashes, then you have my permission to die. That is why. You will watch helplessly as I step on- NO, BURN EVERYTHING YOU HAVE EVER STOOD FOR RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES!"

Naruto stopped to compose himself.

"I see. Would it help if I said I was sorry? Is it too late to say that? Is it meaningless to apologize?"

"Never." Naruto said before pausing. "However, it won't stop me. Everything you held dear will burn."

There was a knock at the door. Naruto went to it and opened it. It was Shino.

"Naruto, Ryu is waiting for you in your office. He says you can talk with Shenron now." Shino said.

"Good."

Then Shino noticed the figure in the shadows. "So you did it. Was it difficult getting in and retrieving-"

"No it wasn't Shino. If you thought it was difficult then you obviously haven't been paying attention." Naruto said with a small smile.

"You're right, I should have expected it to be simple with how pathetic Konoha has become over the years." Shino said, giving a barely seen smile.

"That you should my friend. Now let's go. We don't want to keep him waiting. As powerful as we are Shenron could still wipe our home of the map if he wanted to." Naruto said before he turned and said good-bye to the figure in the shadows and then heading to his office.

"So Shino, how are things going with your training, as well as that other thing?"

"They're going quite well. As for the other thing though, she thought I was joking."

"Well, what did you expect? She is eleven years older than you." Naruto said.

"Yes, I know," Shino said.

Naruto stopped him with a hand of his friend's shoulder. "Give it time Shino. Eventually, who knows? You might find someone better, or she might change her mind."

They continued to walk. "Yes, you're right. However, Anko and I have similar interests."

"Why do you think I put you two in charge of our interrogation division when some of the missions we get from Suna and Kiri call for it? I know what 'interests' you two share." Naruto said. He swore he heard a small chuckle.

"Yes, but you, her, and I share a bond. I would like to think that she sees me the same way I see her."

"Well, for now, you can't do much. Just wait for the time being."

Shino nodded as they came to a stop in front of Naruto's office. "I will see you later then." Shino said before walking back down the hall. Naruto opened the door to see Ryu sitting on his desk.

"Greetings Ryu, how are things?"

"They are well, and you?"

"They're fine," Naruto said. "So what of this meeting with Shenron?"

"Come with me," Ryu said before they both disappeared.

In seconds, Ryu and was standing in front of Shenron. It was finally time to get answers from them. Naruto was standing in front of the Great Dragon Sage, staring at Shenron with a look that told the dragon sage why he was there.

"So, young Naruto. You will no longer wait for us to tell you of the other Uzumaki?"

"No. After all these years you have still yet to tell me. I want to know about my remaining family. I will no longer wait."

"Fine. Two of them you already know I cannot bring here, one has had us promise never to reveal her, and one we cannot bring here because he already is."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"He means," came a new voice as a man in white robes and with red hair walked out from behind a pillar, "that you can't take someone where they already are." He walked up to Naruto before stopping in front of him.

"Greetings Naruto. I am Roku Uzumaki." His eyes started to change. "I am your ancestor." Black rings shot out of the man's pupil with a sea of purple. "I am the immortal, first Uzumaki." He said, standing there with his Rinnegan shining in all its glory. "I am the Nidaime Rikudō Sennin. I am the Second Sage of the Six Paths."

 _ **Chronicle**_ was once again dreaming as he saw what he considered the least clear thing he had ever seen. He could see as the blurs rushed around what looked like a home. It seemed as though he was looking out of the eyes of a small boy as everything moved to quickly to get details. He saw a feminine figure rushing to him.

"We need to get to the bedroom. Hurry. Your father will protect us." the woman said in a voice that echoed and seemed to shift like his vision. He could see his vision shift to what looked like a window as fire flared to life outside. He heard wood break as a door was busted and men came in. he saw them grab the women and then him before dragging them out. He could see very little apart from the fire that blazed to life nearby. He could hear screams that were silenced before everything seemed to stop. He turned to see blood fly across his vision before a monstrous roar shook the ground at his feet. Everything seemed to detach as the light showed in his vision.

Chronicle shot upward. He was on his feet as he grabbed the bed he had been sleeping in and flung it across the room causing it to break apart and put small holes in the wall. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Chronicle yelled to the vision he had just seen.

He was hunched over, his breathing labored. He didn't know why but he could feel tears falling down his face.

"I....couldn't save....them." he looked at his hands. "What was that? Was that...what I've been waiting for? Is it starting to come together? What in the world is happening to me?" Chronicle said to himself. He stood up straight as he calmed his breathing. He quickly got dressed and left the room. He needed to think.

' _Perhaps that's why the memories are so hard to see. I repressed them. Obviously I'm hiding something from myself. Now all I need to do is figure out what that is.'_ Chronicle thought to himself as he walked towards the mess hall for some food.

 _ **The**_ woman stood on the crest of the hill as she stared at the small medallion in her hand. The woman was beautiful. She had dark blue eyes, a slim figure, and short, curly, dark red hair that barely touched her shoulders. Her clothing was a black shirt and pants with small padding along her arms, legs, and torso. Her feet were covered in simple black, leather shoes. At her hip was a small, plain dagger.

The medallion in her hand was made of metal and had a simple carving. She saw a small vision of her father giving it to her.

' _Never forget that no matter where you are, you are an Uzumaki.'_ She heard his voice tell her.

The carving on the medallion had three spirals going in a counter-clockwise direction with their end meeting an outside point of the next one, thus forming a triskele or a triple spiral.

Her voice was soft and elegant as she spoke. "I think I might be getting close, brother. Just give me more time. You and I will finally be together again. Then, we might just find the ones who did this to us. Then this world will know the wrath of the dragon summoners of the Uzumaki clan. Then, perhaps we should join this Naruto that Shenron told me about."

She then opened the medallion to reveal a picture. There was a man with long, straight red hair, a woman with straight, dark brown hair that touched her shoulders, a small girl in the arms of the father with dark red curly hair, and a small, two-year-old boy with barely any of his almost black hair growing in. the boy was held in the mother's arms.

"Yes, brother. I will find you." The woman said to herself.


	13. Chapter 13

**Four years ago.**

_**"What**_ do you mean Hidan is dead? That's not possible." The voice rasping voice said in the darkness.

"Apparently, it is." said the solid, and authoritative voice in response.

"As I heard, he had it coming. He attacked someone recklessly without knowing their abilities." said a female voice.

"As much as you care for not underestimating an opponent, even you have to admit none of us could have predicted someone being able to kill one us, let alone Hidan. He may have been an idiot of the highest level, but he was still one of the strongest of us." a deep, monotone voice said in response.

"This is so stupid." came a dull, female voice that sounded bored.

"Can we get to the point of this meeting?" asked the voice of a young man that sounded annoyed by the entire meeting.

"Fine." said the authoritative voice. "The point of the meeting is that we are now down a member, and face the threat of someone who can kill us. Even if we cast Hidan out because he had no control, he was still a part of us and will be avenged. I know some of you never liked Hidan. For you, I say you will cooperate if for no other reason, to kill whoever it is that poses a threat to us."

"Oh come on," said a new, insane sounding voice, "can't we just get back to killing people? I wanted to test some more of my beautiful art."

"No, this is a threat that can't be ignored."

* * *

 _ **"I-Immortal**_ first Uzumaki?" Naruto asked with awe in his voice.

"Well, I guess that was over-exaggerated in a moment of hubris. I can die. I can be killed. I just don't age. It would seem that the longevity I passed down, originated from longevity that won't end any time soon. I can be killed, it's just difficult." Roku said in response.

"Yes," Shenron said, "even I didn't know about that part."

"So why didn't you tell me sooner?" Naruto asked.

"He was actually here three years ago. He wanted to see how patient you would be if we told you to wait for information. You waited over three years. He was impressed." Shenron said.

"Alright," Naruto said before turning back to Roku, "but why not show up before? Why wait until now?"

Roku closed his eyes and released a heavy sigh. "I was once a man who intervened in wars, so as to spread peace. Though I didn't stay, and most records of my existence were destroyed due to the chaos at that time. Eventually, I was able to help calm the world. Eventually, I found a wife and passed down my Uzumaki blood. I created a home for my children in Uzu no Kuni. But as years past, wars began anew, people aged and faded away, even I am a relic of the past. The only difference is that I have had to watch as all I cared for withered, aged, and eventually died. Eventually, I lost hope. I went into seclusion, wanting to live alone so that I couldn't watch the people I loved die anymore. Over time I did things. I helped bring prosperity to small villages, and yet they still slowly passed me by. But you, you give me a small spark of hope."

"Hope for what." Naruto asked.

"Hope for a way to once again do the job I believe is my responsibility. You have given me hope in some of your actions. People hated you, yet you persevered. When they betrayed you, you didn't surrender. You then managed to bring back our home, even though it was so damaged and behind a barrier. You have also brought together three of the jinchuriki, including yourself, as well as Suna and Kiri. Things I didn't think possible. You have used yourself as a way to channel this alliance between them." Roku said with a small smile. "Who knows, I might just-" He said before going silent.

"What is it?" Naruto asked.

"It's nothing. For now." Roku said. There was a pause. "So perhaps you could show me to the rebuilt Uzushio? I have been dying, so to speak, to see it."

Naruto smiled. "Of course."

Naruto put his hand on Roku's shoulder before they disappeared.

"So what do you think is going to happen now Shenron?" Ryu asked.

"I know you saw it. The entire time they talked, Naruto was calculating what Roku was going to do. Naruto has gotten stronger in the past three years. As powerful as Roku is, not even he can stop Naruto anymore. Though, that's only because of his unwillingness to kill him. Naruto is strong enough now that that would be the only way for Roku to stop him."

Ryu nodded. "So now it all comes down to how quickly Roku will finally give in."

"Indeed. He thinks we don't know, but we can see it. Even if we haven't seen him in all of these years, we know."

"So what should we do then? Should we let them continue down this path?"

"We deemed them both worthy. What they choose to do now is up to them. I refuse to be the cause of a fight between the two. What they choose is up to them. We won't intervene if that's what Roku chooses."

Ryu nodded in response. "Then it's settled. Now the outcome of the world rests in Naruto's hands. Let's just hope we don't regret the decision later."

"On that point, you and I will never disagree."

* * *

 _ **Roku**_ was looking out over the edge on top of the Uzukage tower with Naruto on his left, as well as Hinata, Shino, Fuu, Yagura, and Anko behind them. They had become Naruto's own personal force over the years.

"Naruto, or perhaps I should say Lord Uzukage, even I never saw how much Uzugakure had grown over the years. This is magnificent. The home I built for my family is now the home of my family and so much more. It was like this before it was destroyed, but I never saw it. Now I look at it, and I can hardly stop myself from crying. It is truly beautiful." Roku said. He looked down with his deactivated eyes to see women walking with small children or carrying infants, older children running around and playing games, other people walking around to finish whatever business they had, and even some shinobi on the rooftops. He enjoyed looking at the sight with his normal eyes so that he could see the details in their imperfection. With his Rinnegan, he could see most of the details in what he perceived as overly perfect. Every detail, flaw, and movement become clear to him, and he preferred to look at the world through his normal eyes.

Naruto spoke up once he saw that Roku had composed himself. "With the ability to open up small holes in the barrier it became rather simple to set up an economy between Mizu and Uzu. Setting up trade routes with Kaze was much more difficult, but not impossible. Come on, let's go to my office and we can talk about everything that we've been doing here."

"Of course." Roku said. His voice was calm, but Naruto could tell that he was holding back his emotions. He was still trying not to cry.

They turned and the small group reentered the building before descending to the level with Naruto's office. When they got there Naruto opened the door and lead the rest of them in.

The office, which had once bore resemblance to the Hokage's, was now organized differently than before. The room seemed to have been expanded to make more room for the contents. In front of the windows sat a large, brown desk with two small stacks of files and two baskets, with their own files in them, next to the small stacks. On each side of the desk were two metal filing cabinets with more baskets of files on top of them. There were two more desks in the exact same fashion on the right and left sides of the office. The desk in the middle had the pedestal with the barrier seal on the left side while the desk to the left also had a door behind it leading to another room. In the corners were stacks of files in red, black, gold, and blue folders, each color taking up a corner of the room. In the middle of the room was a large, square, black table. On the table were several sealing arrays over a world map that took up the middle of the table. The sealing arrays then projected themselves upward to create a three-dimensional frame of the landscape. The projection was zoomed in so that details could be seen in the mountains. On the rest of the table were more files and notes.

The most noticeable thing in the room was the army of Naruto Bunshin working in each area of the room. One sat at each desk doing different tasks. The one working on the desk to the right was working on reports and paperwork for the village. The one on the left was working on writing up reports of his own, reading reports on the soon-to-be-Gennin, and working on files and missions he had gotten from his associate villages. The was also a few bunshin that went to the desk to talk with the one at the desk before taking seemingly random files and papers off the desk and through the door behind the desk. The desk by the windows had more visitors than the others. The desk had three bunshin working at it with other bunshin coming and going to collect different-colored files and putting them in their respective corners.

The bunshin seemed to all be moving chaotically through the room and across their tasks, yet at the same time, looking closely would reveal that there was a method to the madness. They all had their tasks and their own paths. Each and every one of the bunshin worked around the table in the middle as clones worked on papers and notes as they all waved the hands across the projected map to move it around in different directions every time one of them bent down to make a note. Every so often some of them would pass on their notes to others, pass them to others who would take them to the center desk, or take them to the master clone at the middle desk themselves. The difference between the three events was that the times one took a file or note to the master clone, it took a few moments of them talking to establish the importance of whatever the bunshin were discussing. Eventually, the files would make their way to their individual corners.

When Naruto himself walked in the not only stopped what they were doing, they quickly put their papers down in an organized order. Once that was done they all got into rows, with the ones from the other room coming in with a large scroll carried by the last one out, and stood at attention.

"Is that room ready?" Naruto asked. The clone with the scroll tossed it to him while nodding.

"Good. All but the master cone, dispel." They instantly clasped their left arms behind their backs and their right fists over their hearts before dispelling. He tossed the scroll and one other over to the master clone along with another one.

"Go down to the other room and set up there. Create more clones once you're down there and continue working." Naruto said. The master bunshin nodded before taking the second scroll and activating it. Lines flashed across the floor before chains came up out of the lines to wrap around the table and desks. Instantly they were gone as the seal retracted into the scroll. The clone stood up before disappearing in his Uzu shunshin.

Naruto removed another scroll from his robes and activated it. The entire floor became an empty, black abyss as a large, round table and several chairs emerged. The darkness then disappeared in a swirl to show the floor once again.

"Alright, let's sit down." Naruto said as he took a seat.

When everyone had taken a chair, Roku decided to voice his own question. "I saw shinobi on the rooftops when we ourselves were on the roof. Many of them looked like children. Have you been training your own Gennin?"

"Yes, and I take it very seriously. As a matter of fact, I intend on attending our fist Gennin exam in a few days." Naruto said.

"So how have you been training them? It must be tough if there's already a Gennin graduating class in under four years."

"In a way, it is," Shino said. "We have them all divided up in their first year and focus on specifics each of the three years. Next year another generation should be ready, though it will be smaller than this year's."

"How do you divide them, and what do you focus on?" Roku asked.

Naruto took over. "The plan for dividing them for their first year was actually Hinata's Idea. She proposed that in the first year they were divided up based on their chakra levels. The first year of their training focuses on chakra control and increasing reserves. The ones with larger reserves are focused more on control than increasing reserves, while the ones with smaller reserves focus more on building reserves than control. The goal was that by the end of the first year they could be put into the same classes on equal ground."

"And how did you determine their reserve level?" Roku asked with a confused look.

"The three basic jutsu. The replacement, bunshin, and henge." Naruto said. "I personally use a technique I developed to let other people use my chakra to use the Kage bunshin jutsu. With that, I'm able to have them learn the three basics in under a week. Based on their control and abilities with them, we can determine where they get sorted. During their time in the first year, we then have them working on chakra building and control exercises for the rest of that year. We also work on other basic jutsu and chakra nature, as well as the fact that by the end of the first year they should be able to create two or three Kage bunshin."

"That, is ingenious, but you teach them the Kage bunshin?" Roku asked.

"Yes. The goal is to not only expedite their advancements, but also to make them better than the Gennin from most other villages."

"And what of the other years?"

"During the second year, we focus on their physical training," Hinata said. "We focus on teaching them maneuvers to use in combat, as well as taijutsu. Not only that, but we also work on weapons training."

"Then, the third year is focused on team training, more advanced jutsu, higher-level weaponry skills, advancements in their chakra nature, how to better use jutsu outside of their nature, as well as how to handle enemies with Kekkei Genkai," Yagura said.

"And the Kage bunshin allows them to advance through those things faster." Roku said, as if he was contemplating the information.

Naruto nodded.

"Tell me, is there some kind of doctrine you teach them?" Roku asked.

"What do you mean?" Naruto responded.

"Like Konoha's will of fire, or the old Kiri's bid for glory and power in the name of the bloody mist."

"Well, we have a few of them, if you can really call them doctrines. We don't really preach them all the time. However, I have to say that our most important one is definitely made known. Never compromise. Not even in the face of Armageddon."

"I see." He said, pausing to think for a moment. "And what about the economy? If you're trying to move goods across the island, it can be difficult to get the means to transport the things you need. And coordination for that would require communications." Roku said.

"Well, that's mostly due to the Land of Snow. They have developed airships that have been very useful." Naruto said. "The airships are actually in several classes. Warships, transports, cargo ships, carriers, cruisers, dreadnoughts, and balloons name a few of them. The balloons are just large sacks of thick cloth with large containers hanging from the bottom and powered by a furnace that supplies hot air. The balloons are mostly used for surveillance. The cargo ships are what matter though. They are one of the things we use to transport goods from Uzushiogakure to the shore and vice versa. And then for short journeys, we just have transports. I really don't want to go into detail about all the other classes, though there are some other things that Snow developed for us."

"The first are some advancements towards our fleets of actual ships. We don't need much seeing as how mast other countries don't have more than supply ships and we have Kiri on our side now. However, we have some in particular that make things very useful." Shino said

"If you don't need ships because the rest of the world doesn't have them, then why make airships?" Roku asked.

"It's not like we have billions of them awaiting orders." Naruto said. "It took a long time to make the structures themselves. Though the same can be for one of our greatest ships. I will show it to you later. It took time to build these things, especially some of the large metal structures that make up a few of our airship classes. Anyways, we have one other development. It's called a locomotive. Tracks are set down on the ground for steam-powered carts linked together in long supply trains to travel across. Generally, they're used for larger, and less fragile, materials, as well as freight, and ore. As for communications, we have radio towers and transceivers all over the island. It helps us communicate with the barrier teams. And communicating with them boosts our security."

"I see. How long did it take you to do all of this?"

"To be honest, it was only finished recently. Our fleets of airships, the communications array, the tracks for the locomotives, and the shinobi training for our first Gennin was all only completed a short time ago. The same can be said for the complete recovery of our allies, Suna and Kiri. They have been recovering. We have been communicating with them, and sometimes I go meet their Kage myself. Especially Suna's. Now, why don't we go see those special feats of engineering I was talking about?"

* * *

 _ **After**_ an hour Naruto and the rest were standing on top of a fortress on the edge of Hi no Kuni. They looked over the water at the amazing ship they saw. The Fugaku. The ship itself looked like it might as well be its own capital. If such a structure were to be on land, it would take armies to effectively surround it. It was actually made of up of three massive ships, held together by the very fortress they supported. There were buildings that were meant for housing, large platforms for training, rest, or to be looking out, a large castle-like building in the center, as well as massive areas covered in trees and water. The areas like that were meant for the crew to have a sense of the land, or just peace when it was needed. The ship was propelled by vast sails that were mounted on multiple locations on the fortress. On the sides were colossal water wheels that would help move the ship faster, or move period in the case of a day with wind that was to light. While not visible there were also fin-like structures along the bottoms of the ship.

The most notable feature of the ship was its main weapon. All along the ship there were holes for canons and such, but none compared to the primary weapon of the Fugaku. The eleven-foot cannon. The cannon was much longer than eleven feet as the number referred to the width of the opening. The black cannon had two distinguished features apart from the size. The first was the giant, metal ogre face under the base and the large golden plating around the opening.

"That is the greatest thing I have ever seen." Roku said.

"You think that's great? You should see what else it can do. You see, the hard part about the structure was those wheels on the sides are able to lower themselves. In essence, the mammoth-sized furnaces we have on that thing fuel the wheels. That's why those wheels had to be so massive and intricate. With the weight of the fortress on anything less, the ship would fall apart under its own weight. Though, using seals to strengthen integrity has to help."

"Are you trying to tell me that the Fugaku is able to travel on land as well?"

"With terrain wide and flat enough, yes. I have another mobile fortress, but we can take a look at that later."

"So then, what about all of your other plans?" Roku asked.

"Well, for now, I have a shortlist that covers a good bit. Take care of the Akatsuki is first. I can't have such a powerful group just running around. Though, the plan is to try and recruit the organization over to my side. Though I know that some of them won't be convinced, I can try. Next on the list is that snake Orochimaru. Some of the ex-Oto-nin have come to talk to me. They like what I've done for them, but a lot of them still have people they care about with Orochimaru. Most of Oto is just bases around the nations, but the man does have a small village slash headquarters hidden in the land of sound, north of Hi no Kuni and west of the Land of Hot Water. Once that snake is gone I intend on putting that village to good use, as well as using the several bases to help keep footholds across the nations when they're needed."

"And what about any other plans?"

Naruto sighed. "Could you leave us for the time being?" he said to the others. In moments, Naruto and Roku were alone.

"The dragons have no doubt told you about me, my past and my plans. Why do I need to tell you what you already know?"

"They told me what they could."

"Could?" Naruto asked.

Roku gave a small smile. "They told me what you told them, and what little they could see."

"What do you mean?"

"They have always had a knack to see people's intentions and thoughts. As much as I try to hide it, I know they can see right through me. It's all I can do to hide the fact that I know. Though, it's not too hard to see through me. I've always worn my mind and heart on my sleeves. But you, they can't get much out of you. My guess, you have had too much practice hiding your true face for someone your age. Not only that, but I can see something that they can't."

"And what would that be?"

"Something dark. But it isn't you. Even worse, it's certainly not Kyuubi."

"He prefers Kurama," Naruto said.

"You're changing the topic," Roku said.

"No, simply stating a fact. As for that dark thing you see, me and him have an understanding. So to speak."

"What do you mean?" Roku asked, deciding to ignore the 'him' part for now.

"I'm not at liberty to say. All you need to understand is that until such a time as I am broken, he is nothing more than a voice that sometimes nags me. And I have no intention of being broken."

"Noted." He sighed. "Naruto, what you need to understand is that everyone has a bit of darkness, it's a part of us. But that isn't why I wanted to talk to you so much." Roku said before he started pacing slowly. Eventually, he came to stand at the edge of the roof. "Naruto you have given me hope, as I already told you. That is why, for the time being, I will stand next to you for your goals. But understand something," He said before turning to face Naruto, "I am so tired. Here soon, I will give you the last gift I can. My legacy, so to speak. I am so tired of this world. Now, those other plans?"

* * *

 _ **Gaara**_ was standing on the roof when he felt the presence appear behind him.

"It's been a while," Gaara said.

"Yes, it has. I don't live close enough to visit as often as I would like to." Naruto said.

"I completely understand. Is it time?" Gaara asked.

"Yes. Get everyone ready to move, and cut off all ties to Konoha."

"Communication, aid, and all other ties," Gaara said as a smile grew on his face. "Have we started the fire?"

Naruto smirked. "Yes, and the fire rises."

"So are you going after the Akatsuki soon?"

"Yes. And after I'm done with them, Orochimaru is next up to the chopping block."

"Then Konoha?"

"Then Konoha."

* * *

 _ **Chronicle**_ woke after the memory. It was frightening him how quickly they were starting to come back.

He had the same dream as before, the one where men had come into their home and dragged them out. This time though, it was clearer.

His mother, who had dark hair like his and dark blue eyes, was frantically trying to get him and his sister, which he had failed to see last time, to follow her to the rooms. His mother had dark brown, curly hair like his and dark green eyes.

He was unable to see many of the details about his sister apart from her blue eyes. Then they were pulled outside.

As he looked he could see hundreds of people brandishing weapons, he saw that in the hoard of people there was someone shooting fire at the crowd. Then time slowed down as it had before. He could hear the scream and turned to see his mother having her throat cut open. That was when he heard the same roar as before and woke up.

"I remember that bandits had killed them, and I was eventually able to track down those who did it. But, ironically enough, I only just remembered what my mother looked like." He chuckled slightly. "I went through all of the trouble of tracking them down and wiping them out, only now to regret not waiting so that I could have her face in my mind when I did it. My past is forgotten for whatever reason, and my name was forgotten due to the time I went without using it. But, it is starting to come back."

He had always remembered that his parents were killed, the face of the person who had been in charge, and where he had lived once before, but when he had gone there looking for answers there was nothing more than the burnt skeleton of a home. He had then gone through the agonizing process of finding people who might have seen what happened. He then used every bit of information he could to track down the people responsible. That was after he had seen his mentor for the last time.

She had died a year after their joint operation. One year after he became Chronicle. After that he had buried her as best he could and left. Though he didn't leave until after he had gone through her notes and such. He had eventually found a journal with her real name in it. It was probably one of his most prized possessions.

He heard a knock at the door. When he opened it he saw the leader of his organization's current host country.

"Naruto, how can I help you?"

For the past year and a half, he and his organization had taken residence in Uzu. They didn't have a home nation, and Naruto had offered them a place to stay in the hidden village.

"May I come in, I have some things I want to talk to you about."

"Sure," Chronicle said as he moved out of the way to let Naruto walk in. they both took a seat in the two small chairs Chronicle had.

"The first thing I wanted to ask you about was using your spy networks for an operation I'm working on."

"Of course. I told you that so long as you have my support you have my resources as well. So what's the other thing?"

"It might be nothing, but could you tell me how old you are?"

Chronicle sighed. "I told you about how my memory is. I don't know much from before I actually became Chronicle. But, if I had to speculate, I would say somewhere just over thirty. Why?"

"For now, it's nothing. Forget I asked." Naruto said.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ stood in the middle of the clearing, he felt ridiculous. He was in a larger version of his original, orange tracksuit.

"Anko, if this doesn't help, I swear that you're going be put on patrol of the barrier for a month." He said.

"Oh come on, you said we need them to underestimate you. What better way than by dressing in that ridiculous outfit?" Anko's voice said in his ear. She was trying not to laugh. Naruto could hear it.

He had spent the last several hours with Chronicle's spy networks, and his own, on high alert as he did everything in his power to attract the Akatsuki. He had managed to gain the information that Itachi and Kisame had been sent out to try and capture him. Some of their other members were also being sent to meet up with them on their way towards him, however, he decided to intercept the pair he was after at the moment.

"Anko, if the plan fails and I dressed up like this for nothing-"

"I get patrol duty, I know." She sounded like a child reacting to being nagged.

Before he could respond he heard what he was waiting for. He heard a branch break under someone's foot. His face slipped into a large smile as he put his hands behind his head and leaned his weight to the side slightly.

In moments he saw what he was waiting for as Itachi and Kisame walked into the clearing. They stopped instantly.

"Hey there Itachi! Long time, no see. How have things been?"

"Naruto, it's time you came with us," Itachi said in an emotionless voice. _'_

 _Forgive me Naruto. I despise Konoha because of what they did to you, but my goal is to protect Sasuke, even if that means protecting Konoha. Even if that means I need to attack you and kill you. Even if it means I must work with the Akatsuki,' h_ e thought to himself.

"Aaawwweee! You ruined the reunion. I might cry." Naruto said, his voice still sounding like he was just a child in a grown body.

"Come on Itachi, let's cut off his legs and get going," Kisame said.

"How about a deal," Naruto said. "If you can subdue me, even for the most split of moments, without using your sword," he said while pointing at Kisame, "or your Sharingan," he said, pointing at Itachi, "I will surrender and go with you willingly."

"Why on earth should we bother with that?" Kisame asked.

"Because I could always create several million Kage bunshin to keep you occupied while I disappear, never to be seen by you again until a sword is buried in your backs," Naruto said as if it was that simple. He started to stand up straight, but the smile never faded.

"Let's just accept. It won't be hard to bring down a brat. If he's willing to surrender that easily, then there is no point letting him run away. Remember last time? He is fully capable of running and leaving us to fight clones." Itachi said. He just wanted to get it over with.

"Fine," Kisame grumbled, sounding like a child being told to put his candy bar back. He took Samehada, Shark Skin, off of his back and leaned it against a tree. When he turned back to Naruto he cracked his neck and prepared to subdue Naruto without too much effort.

' _Good, they still underestimate my power. Too bad. I would have shown them my true power if they hadn't allowed the plan to advance.'_ Naruto thought to himself.

Naruto started laughing. "Now, let's see if you can win."

He then created so many clones that they were coming out of the trees. Itachi and Kisame were instantly put on the defensive as the clones came from all directions, each using a different combination of attacks to keep the two Akatsuki from retaliating.

Itachi was forced to bring up his left knee to block a kick to the stomach and instantly turned around to parry a blow to his head. However, he couldn't block every blow as he felt a jab at his knees, his solar plexus, and then his shoulders. He could feel various blows and jabs at different areas of his body. He was dispelling some clones but couldn't get out of it. He quickly took a small opening to draw a tanto and start cutting away at the bunshin. His blade then met with another as some of the bunshin drew their blades.

He blocked and parried some of them but took some cuts to his arms and torso. However, he also managed to land some hits and dispel some clones. He even had to dodge some jutsu while also firing off some of his own.

Itachi stuck his blade in the throat of one while also lading a kick in the center of a clone's chest. With the opening, he then managed to jump into the air and use a Katon jutsu that kicked up dust and smoke as Bunshin were dispersed by the dozens. When he landed he didn't expect to be assaulted so quickly.

As the smoke and dust cleared he saw that Kisame was in no better condition. How could he have been so foolish to not expect Naruto to get stronger? He could see that one on one he would have ended Naruto easily. The blows were weak and uncoordinated. But the sheer numbers forced him to admit that he should have seen it coming. He saw the black and green blades in each clones hands, with some holding Rasengan, about to end him.

"SUSANOO!" Itachi yelled as his Sharingan flared to life and twisted into its Mangekyo form.

He was shocked to see the world around him shift and fade away. He was on his knees and turned to see Kisame in the same situation. He then also felt the lack of strain on his eyes caused by the Susanoo. He didn't even feel his Sharingan active at all. It had gotten him out of the genjutsu before deactivating. Why was he so tired?

He looked up to see Naruto standing there. Itachi fell over onto his side right about the same time that Kisame did, however, his teammate still convulsed slightly. They had been trapped in a genjutsu.

"Thank you for being my perfect guinea pig," Naruto said. "You underestimated me and paid for it." Naruto walked over to Itachi before crouching next to him.

"You see, I was able to trick you and Kisame there to leave out your biggest threats to me. That sword of his could alter his chakra flow, and your Sharingan could see through genjutsu. Once they were out of the way I simply blended reality and illusion. I created so many bunshin to attack you, then I had four, multilayered genjutsu woven around the both of you. Even you can't handle that many genjutsu when the only thing they're doing is hiding minor details. They allowed me to get a couple of people in close." Naruto said before Hinata and Shino were standing next to him.

"You see, those jabs you felt, the lack of chakra so great that your Sharingan couldn't even stay active, and your inability to even move. Those things were cause by the actual damage the bunshin did, the work of Hinata here hitting several of your chakra points, Shino absorbing most of your chakra with his insects, and then Anko using her snakes to fill your bodies with a paralyzing agent."

"Anko...is with you. I forgot about that bit of intel." Itachi said as Anko walked up as well. "But, even we didn't know about those two." He said, looking at Hinata and Shino.

"Now then, I'm going to give you a mild sedative so that we can take a trip, old friend." Naruto said before Anko applied a sedative to both Itachi and Kisame. Kisame was out of the illusion and Naruto had a clone seal Samehada into a scroll. The clone had multiple wounds on its hands from where the sword had attacked out of aggravation.

"Let's get them back to Uzu. We're one step closer to finally getting control of the power we're going to need." Naruto said. "We have work to do."

* * *

 _ **Itachi**_ was forced awake by a rotten smell. When he opened his eyes he saw Naruto standing there, putting away a small vile containing a viscous liquid. He was standing there in his entirely black cloths with his Uzukage robe.

"These liquid smelling salts are infinitely useful," Naruto said. "Now, onto business." He said before pulling a stool out of the corner and sitting down.

They were inside of a small, wooden room. There was nothing on the walls or floors apart from the several seals that spread across the walls like chains. Itachi was sitting in the only furniture apart from the stool, a simple wooden chair. He noticed that he was unrestrained but then realized that the seals were the restraints.

"So, let's get on with why you are trying to kill me. You were once like an older brother to me Itachi. Not only that but the entire time you were free of genjutsu, I saw regret in your eyes. Are you truly with the Akatsuki just to protect Konoha or just Sasuke? If it's just to protect Konoha," Naruto said, his voice growing cold, "then I will kill you now. No matter how close we were before, I will not allow you to stop Konoha's destruction. Though, I guess I could just seal you in a scroll until this all blows over and afterward you can once again stand by me as you did before."

His voice returned to normal. "If it is only to protect Sasuke, then you can join me without worry. I have no intention of killing Sasuke. Unless of course, he gives me no other choice. So, what do you say, my friend?"

"I simply want to protect Sasuke. Konoha can burn. I still love the ideals it once stood for, but they have become something that must be destroyed so that it can be rebuilt on the structure it once stood for." Itachi said, sitting up. "As for the Akatsuki, you should know-"

"I know all about them. Have for a long time. You realize that your partner is sadistic right?" Naruto said, changing the topic for the moment.

Itachi nodded.

"Shino and Anko have been getting along quite well with him actually. It's creepy." Naruto said. "However, Kisame is still against my offer to join us. What about you though?"

Itachi nodded. "The fact that you won't hurt my brother means that I have no reason not to join you, and all the reason to do so. You're my friend Naruto, I'll join you."

Naruto stood up, smiled, and made a small hand seal. The seals on the walls disappeared. "Allow me to introduce you to my home. Allow me to show you Uzushiogakure."

Itachi's face was priceless.

"Come with me," Naruto said as he helped Itachi stand.

Itachi noticed that he was no longer wearing his Akatsuki cloak.

Naruto led him out of the room and down a series of halls. They asked each other a few questions about what they had been doing over the year, however, Naruto avoided any questions about where they were or what was going on.

Eventually, they came to a door that Naruto made a show of opening. Itachi could not have possibly seen what was behind that door coming.

"Naruto, what is that?"

"That is one of the ships in my air fleet. Its name is Shiva." Naruto said as he also looked at the massive, metal structure. "The structure itself weighs more than I know. The only reason it gets off the ground is because of the gravity seals embedded into the metal. It forces the gravity to affect the ship at less than one thousand times normal. It makes fueling, and flying, the ship laughably easy. Getting the thing off the ground only requires taking it straight up."

"Wait, airships?" Itachi asked.

"Yes, we have Snow to thank for our fleet."

Shiva was a warship that expanded left and right in front of them so that they were looking at its left side. The outer armor of the ship was mostly white, with brown designs on some parts. The inside of the armor showed that there was a mostly open area. In that open area, there were large platforms that connected two of the large outer plates. The platforms were meant for shinobi to walk across and fire of jutsu towards the ground. The platforms were only connected to armor, there for the shinobi had to descend to the platforms via ladders on either side of the bridge-like platforms. Itachi also noticed several other mechanisms and structures that were part of the ship, however, Naruto told him they were moving on.

As Itachi followed Naruto he saw a group of people who were playing a card game.

"Hello, Zhou." Naruto said. The man he was talking to had light, red armor, dark grey hair that came down to form two large sideburns, as well as light brown eyes.

"It's good to see you again lord Uzukage. The fact that you're here with Itachi Uchiha of all people means you must be here to take Shiva up."

"Yes, turning him to our side wasn't as hard as you thought it would be. It didn't even take a full minute, let alone half an hour." Naruto said. Zhou sighed and handed Naruto fifty Ryo.

"Alright. Give us a minute and we'll have it ready to launch." Zhou said, sounding depressed. He had lost a bet.

"I'll be waiting on the bridge," Naruto said.

Eventually Naruto was standing next to Itachi on what Itachi assumed was the bridge of the ship. He saw that a large portion of the floor and most of the walls were made out of glass. He could tell that it was so that people could see where the ship was going. Itachi saw that Hinata, Shino, Anko, and a few people he had never met before were standing around as well. Though, he did recognize a few of them from a report on the Sound Four.

"Those people you don't know will be introduced to you later." Naruto had told him when they had boarded.

He looked down to see the ground far below them.

"This is Uzu no Kuni. I was able to rebuild it over the years, and it's where I've been hiding out all this time. This is why no one could find me. They were all looking in the wrong places." Naruto said.

"This...This is amazing. You actually managed to revive this place. Not even Jiraiya could bring down the barrier seal. And yet, you not only did that, but you rebuilt this entire island nation in four years."

"Of course Jiraiya couldn't. The seal goes deeper into the mechanics of sealing than even he could work out. The seal itself is multilayered. That's how it generates the field that we call the barrier so easily. Jiraiya might be good at sealing jutsu, but there are only a few sealing masters alive right now and Jiraiya isn't one of them." Naruto said.

"Are you?"

"Of course," Naruto said. "Would you like to meet another later on?"

"It would be a pleasure to meet someone of such skill."

"Good. Later on, I will introduce you to my grandfather."

"Your grandfather?"

"Yes, Kamaji was one of the largest reasons I was even able to survive getting out of Konoha. Did you know who my mother was?"

Itachi sighed. "Yes. I take it you know of your parents then. Why do you ask?"

"When she was taken to Konoha my grandfather, Kamaji, followed her so that he could watch over her. When I was betrayed I let them lock up a Kage bunshin. As I ran I passed out and woke up in his home. He then explained how he was my grandfather. It was actually because of him that I was able to do anything other than walk away from Konoha, if I had survived. Well, that aside, let's head to a place where we can sit down and talk about everything that has happened and everything that will."

 _ **"So**_ tell me, Kisame, why are you with the Akatsuki?" the Naruto clone asked.

Kisame, like Itachi, was un-restrained. However, when he tried to attack Naruto he was easily put back into his chair.

"I don't answer to you," Kisame responded.

"You're going to be stuck in here until you cooperate with me."

"Screw you."

"You're going to make this difficult? Perhaps Zabuza or Yagura could convince you to cooperate."

"Yagura was never anything more than a puppet, and Zabuza was a fool who tried to kill him. The fact that Zabuza is even still alive surprises me."

"I already knew about Yagura being a puppet. As for Zabuza, I could still restrain you and let him kill you. Or I could do it myself and give Samehada to someone else."

"Won't work. It would never allow that to happen."

"The blade was made with seals Kisame, do you think it cannot be adjusted? I would hate to do that to such a weapon, but I could."

There was a pause. "You cheated."

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't use Samehada and you still used a million clones."

"I told you that as long as you two didn't use the agreed-upon items I wouldn't use my clones to help me run away. I simply made a ton of clones to make you both miss the genjutsu that was cast on the both of you. But, I suppose I should let you in on a secret."

"What do you mean?" Kisame asked, giving the clone an odd look. Naruto had touched his curiosity.

' _Every human being's weakness, is curiosity.'_ Naruto thought to himself.

"I will tell you where you are so long as you agree to be more cooperative."

"And how would I know you aren't lying?"

"Fine, I will show you where you are. I will let you out of here if you will simply be more courteous to your host." Naruto said.

Kisame gave a small growl. "Fine."

"Glad we could reach an agreement," Naruto said before simply opening the door to the room they were in.

"The door was unlocked?" Kisame asked, bewildered.

"Of course. It's not like you could have gotten to it anyway."

Kisame knew Naruto was right. Ever since he had tried to attack Naruto e couldn't even get out of his chair, much less reach the door.

With the seals disabled Kisame followed Naruto out of the door and into the hall he was able to see that not only was the room they were in not a dungeon, but they were also on the ground level. He was able to look out the windows and see the ground.

"You didn't keep me in a secure location," Kisame said, giving a small tsk. "Not very smart."

"The walls of your room were lased with seals you couldn't see, and the ones you could see were only visible because I wanted them to be. If I hadn't been in there the seals would have been set to shock you if you had so much as touched the walls too hard, same for if you had tried to open the door. If I had wanted to I could have activated the gravity seals and made it too much for you to stand, much less move. This is probably the most comfortable prison you will ever find."

"It's still a prison."

"Sometimes the rules, logic, and so many other things can be prisons. Please don't complain." Naruto said as they got outside.

Kisame could feel his strength coming back because of the lack of seals, and didn't see, or sense, anyone around. This was his chance.

"Just because the seals aren't holding you back doesn't mean you can get away," Naruto said. "You have no idea where you are, or what you would be dealing with."

Kisame calmed down and kept walking.

"Hey brat, when are you going to tell me where I am?"

"In a moment." Naruto said.

As they walked Kisame started to assess Naruto. He took note that he was no longer in orange, but in black clothing. He also took note of the black and green blade that Naruto had used during their fight.

"You mind telling me how I was defeated? The last thing I remember was seeing your blade coming toward me, and then blacking out before it ever touched me."

"You were in a genjutsu. What I didn't tell Itachi was that the genjutsu slowly got more complex as time went on. It slowly transitioned the both of you so that you couldn't tell the difference between the illusion and reality. You were caught in it and eventually, I sedated you and Itachi. Your own arrogance cost you. It only hid that certain people went in and did multiple things to subdue you. Though I must admit, the fact that you underestimated me was the key to all of it. I'd have had a fall back plan of course, but you gave me the key to using plan a. but, I guess you could say that it was Itachi's underestimation of me. You wanted to use Samehada regardless, even though you did think I was weak either way."

"Thanks for that. I'll be sure to remember." Kisame said. He then looked up to see a large tower. However, as he looked around he also noticed the streets devoid of life.

"We're in a village, one with a powerful leader if the tower is any indication, yet there are no people. What's going on here?" Kisame asked.

"Yes, just wait till you see what village." Naruto said with an amused tone. "As for the people, there is a currently enemy shinobi in their streets. They are staying well away from you." Naruto said.

A few moments passed and they entered the tower before walking straight towards a lift. When they got on Naruto quickly set the device to take them to the roof.

"So I take it I'll get my answers when we get off this elevator?" Kisame asked.

"Yes." Naruto said before placing his hand on Kisame's shoulder. "Be patient. Once you've see where we are, then you will answer some of my questions." He said before removing his hand as the lift came to a stop at the roof.

Naruto stepped off and walked towards the ledge. As Kisame came up behind him he turned around and spoke.

"Welcome Kisame. You're standing in Uzushiogakure."

Kisame looked out over the landscape that spanned as far as he could see. It was amazing.

"That's not possible," Kisame said. "For years Kiri had people working on the sealing mechanisms and still couldn't get the barrier down."

"I find it amazing you don't think this is fake. You said impossible, not fake." Naruto said.

"It can't be fake. I've been here before, during a break after the end of a war. Before this place was ever destroyed. You're too young to have seen this place, and the paintings don't do it justice. But this- This is exactly as I remember it. I can't believe I didn't recognize the tower before, but I have stood up here before and looked out at the land. How? How did you do this?"

"I'm an Uzumaki, as is my grandfather. My mother was as well. With the help of my mother's notes on the barrier and my grandfather's direct help, I was able to open Uzu no Kuni. This is my home." Naruto said as he also turned to look at the landscape.

"Just looking at this, I'll answer some of your questions," Kisame said.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ and Itachi now sat in a meeting room onboard the Shiva. Naruto had long before opened the barrier so that the ship could head outward. He and Naruto were alone as the group of people that had joined them stayed on the bridge. The room they were in had a large table with multiple chairs. The table itself sat on a glass floor that allowed them to see below. It took some getting used to for Itachi.

"So, you're saying that the Madara that helped me kill my clan, was probably the same fake that caused the Kyuubi attack?" Itachi asked.

"Yes," Naruto responded.

"This has been a lot to take in. Uzu, Kamaji, the plans to destroy Konoha, Chronicle, Roku, the Uzumaki, all of this. I have to wonder if I'm still stuck in that genjutsu, or perhaps I'm still asleep." Itachi said.

"Yes, it is a lot to take in, but you aren't sleeping nor are you in a genjutsu."

"And now there's this madness you've dragged me into with the Akatsuki leader. I understand wanting to get him on your side so that 'Madara' can't control such an organization, but he won't go down nearly as easily as I did. He won't underestimate you. The fact that you're a jinchuriki, of the Kyuubi no less, is reason enough for him to go all out on you." Itachi said.

"Yes, I know. The Rinnegan will make him a worthy adversary to test my strength against." Naruto said. Not only that, because of your depth into the organization with Madara, I have a piece of information that makes Nagato important to me. He is an Uzumaki. That might allow me to recruit him like I did you. Though it won't be nearly as easy."

"Of course it won't," Itachi said. "You will be taking on the entirety of the Akatsuki, including Madara. Are you sure that is a good idea?"

"Ye of little faith," Naruto said. "So, are you ready for your first mission under my command?"

* * *

 _ **"So**_ tell me Kisame, why are you with the Akatsuki?" Naruto asked. They were now sitting in his office.

"I can't tell you that," Kisame said.

"Is it because of Madara?" Naruto asked. He saw Kisame flinch slightly. "I already know about him being part of the organization so you might as well tell me."

Kisame tried to play it off. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Kisame, don't answer me all you like," Naruto said as his voice grew cold, "but do not lie to me."

The way Naruto spoke caused Kisame to question if he was still dealing with the same person that he and Itachi had gone after all those years ago.

Kisame never responded.

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"I won't tell you that," Kisame said.

"A lot of trust and loyalty for someone you don't know the true identity of," Naruto said.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, so you didn't know?" Naruto said in an amused tone. "Madara has been dead for a long time. The Madara you know helped Itachi kill his clan and was behind the Kyuubi attack all those years ago. Even the Kyuubi will attest to the fact that it wasn't Madara who has been behind these things. However, I don't know who he is either." Naruto said.

"I don't believe you," Kisame said.

"You don't have to. The point is that until I came along, neither you nor Itachi knew. Good thing Itachi believes me."

"You still haven't told me where Itachi is," Kisame said.

"He is with the real me off the island. He has already joined me." Naruto said. "I have explained to him most of my plans and such, and he decided to join an old friend."

"What are you talking about?"

"You can ask Itachi later. For now, I'm going to take you to your living quarters, let you think about everything I've told you."

* * *

 _ **It**_ had been several days since Naruto had talked to Itachi and Kisame, and he had been able to get Kisame to open up more with Itachi's help, though he was still resisting Naruto's offers to join.

Progress had been swift as Naruto had taken the time to start putting together a plan to take on the rest of the Akatsuki. He had people preparing and had clones working round the clock on several projects.

Hinata and Itachi were walking down one of the halls in Naruto's tower at the center of the village. As they approached a door to their right they stopped as it was blown off its hinges and into the wall on their left, a plume of smoke following it out of the room. Embedded in the wall, along with the door, was Naruto. He was covered in dust and started to stand back up. He coughed a little before brushing some of the dust off.

He looked at them. "Well, that didn't work." He said before walking back into the room, which had started venting out at this point.

Hinata and Itachi walked in and watched as Naruto jotted down some notes.

"Alchemical sealing jutsu failed. Literally instant ramen trial four, another failure." Naruto mumbled to himself.

"Naruto, what are you doing?" Itachi asked.

"Well, I learned recently that sealing jutsu was based on techniques that existed before chakra was actually usable," Naruto said, turning to them briefly before turning back to the source of the smoke. There was a sealing array on a desk, a burnt bowl of ingredients sitting in the middle of it.

"I was able to uncover some documents about the origins of sealing jutsu. The Sage of Six Paths was using sealing jutsu not long after people were able to use chakra. So, I realized that it had to originate somewhere. Before the use of chakra, people took what are now sealing arrays to take energy and matter from within the immediate surrounding area of the array to shift the matter into desired objects or formations. When chakra came into play the old ways were lost because the gain outweighed the loss in most people's eyes. Sealing arrays can't shift matter like it could before, but the wider variety of uses were still amazing." Naruto said, jotting down some more notes. "I'm still experimenting with it, but I think I will soon be able to incorporate the old ways of using these arrays into Uzu's sealing techniques. No one could possibly see it coming. It would be a lot like using jutsu, though not nearly as powerful, but also not as time-consuming when done right." He said, turning around to look at them.

"That's amazing," Itachi said. "What were you trying to do there?" he said, pointing towards the still smoking bowl.

"Well, I got hungry," Naruto said, a grin on his face. "I was trying to create instant ramen."

Hinata sighed and put a hand to her face. _'Some things will never change.'_ She thought to herself.

"Now, because they had no chakra at the time, they had to actually draw these sealing arrays. However, I was able to discover that I can achieve similar results when using my chakra to create a sealing array. It took some time, but by studying summoning jutsu I was able to discover how to make these arrays without taking the time to draw them out."

"Naruto, as interesting as this all is, the test is about to begin. Perhaps the Uzukage should make his appearance." Itachi said.

"Yes. Thank you, Itachi." Naruto said as he put on his Uzukage robe.

As they left Itachi went on ahead while Hinata walked next to Naruto.

"Hinata," Naruto said, getting her attention. "When this business with the Akatsuki and Orochimaru is over, we're going ahead with phase four. I'm counting on you Hinata. Are you ready for this?" Naruto said, coming to a stop as he finished. Hinata hesitated as Naruto looked her in the eyes.

"Don't worry Naruto. I'm ready. Konoha will expect a war, that's for sure. But the war you have planned, they won't even be able to comprehend it. It will be a war they won't even believe. They won't be able to believe what happen next, even while it's happening." Hinata responded.

"Good," Naruto said. As they continued walking Naruto finally spoke again. They were getting close to the large coliseum. "Hinata...perhaps after we handle the Akatsuki...we could...do something."

"What are you asking Naruto?"

"Things are coming to a head. I don't want this to end with the possibility that things might never change."

"You still haven't said what you're trying to say Naruto." She said. Her face said it all. She was enjoying his hesitation.

"Hinata, don't make me say it. You know what I'm trying to say."

"Yes, I know. Just promise that one day you'll actually say it. Other than that, of course." She said, stopping to wrap him in a hug.

"Of course." Naruto said, returning the embrace.

When they finally parted they continued walking. They were sitting down in the coliseum.

The coliseum itself was rather large. Naruto knew that it could hold anywhere between 50,000 and 80,000 spectators. And all of those seats were full.

Around him and Hinata sat Itachi, Chronicle, Shino, Roku, and Kisame, though Kisame was having his chakra suppressed by several complex seals. Anko was out of the village for the time being, working on a mission for Naruto. He was able to see a few others sitting in the crowd. One of which was Mei and her two bodyguards.

They sat there for a moment before someone came over and told Naruto that they were ready to begin. Naruto stood up and walked over to a nearby platform so that just about everyone could see him. It took a few moments for the cacophony of the crowd to become silent, but when they did Naruto waited a moment before speaking loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Welcome everyone. You have all been with us for a very long time. You have stood by me and this village, allowing it to grow into what it has become. We all know that the time to reveal ourselves is coming. We all know why. We cannot avoid the spy and information networks of others much longer. We are growing too strong for that. We shall show the world that we exist on our terms, not theirs. So, we now need a new generation of protectors. Protectors of our people, of our ideals, and our home. This has been a long time in the making. And I owe it all to you, the great people who have fueled the dream to rebuild this great village. We, as a people and as a true symbol of what a nation should be, shall not bow to the wishes of the world. We shall meet this world on equal footing. And then, long after we are gone, this great village... will endure. You great people and your decedents will all endure. I am proud to say that this is my village, no, that this is our village. Now, without further ado, let us begin the trial that shall test the worth of our up and coming protectors. This may only be a Gennin exam, but, in my eyes, it is so much more. It is the start of a new chapter in the lives of those who advance. It is the event that will determine the worth of these shinobi. Now, I give things over to the proctor. Let the first match to begin."

Naruto left the small platform to go sit with the others again.

"Don't you think that was a little over the top Naruto?" Shino asked.

"Not at all. With everything that's coming, these people need something like that. They need these words. Besides, it wasn't a lie. It was all true. These new Gennin are protectors of the village. This place couldn't have truly been rebuilt without these people. And finally, after I'm gone and you are gone and they are gone, this village will endure. The decedents of these people will carry on the mantle of this village long after we are gone. These words are needed now when they can set in stone what needs to be set in stone." Naruto said.

Shino nodded. He understood now.

Then they heard the proctor announce the first match-up. Most of the crowd was shocked. Only Naruto, Hinata, and Shino knew that this would happen. It was a match between a young Gennin named Kyuzo. Kyuzo fought more like a samurai, preferring his swords to his other techniques. The boy was usually silent and didn't make any effort to be part of a conversation. Naruto had to say that he was rather skilled, wielding double blades that fit into one sheath on his back. The sheath had the duel blades coming over his left shoulder and past his right hip.

Kyuzo had short, shaggy blond hair, brown eyes, and wore mostly red. He wore a long, red coat that went to just above his ankles and had dark red lines going down the sides of his arms, as well as dark red straps. There were two long strips that went down the front of the coat to allow for mobility. His underclothing and shoes were black.

His opponent was what truly shocked the crowd. It was not another Gennin hopeful, but Tayuya.

As they were both standing in the middle of the arena there was no noise. Even the proctor hadn't expected to have read this off of his charts. The proctor looked at Naruto for confirmation. He only received a simple nod.

"Begin!"

Kyuzo didn't waste time asking why he was fighting an elite jounin, instead of drawing his swords and rushing in. Tayuya drew out her own kunai and threw them at the boy, only to have them deflected. Kyuzo was quick to jump over the blade of wind that Tayuya had sent at him. When he got closer she pulled out her flute and pushed a button so that the instrument extended into a metal pole. She used the metal pole to easily block all of his well-aimed slices. Tayuya saw an opening and slammed the pole into Kyuzo's ribs. The boy flinched but stayed silent, quickly retreating.

Without letting him catch his breath, Tayuya rushed him and tried to attack him with the metal pole. Kyuzo quickly dodged her attacks only for her to jab him in the sternum while he was still in the air. Kyuzo gasped in pain. He quickly got to his feet and prepared to fight her again.

He saw her flute fold in on itself before she started to play it. He quickly ran, trying to stop her from casting a genjutsu on him. He could feel the illusion rapping around him before he quickly sheathed one of his swords to stab his free hand. While the pain helped he was also trying to fend off the illusion that she was continuing to cast. He was unable to keep it up and finally fell on his face.

The match was over.

"How do you expect to really test them against opponents so superior to them?" Roku asked Naruto.

"Just watch," Naruto said.

Hours past as they watched the several dozen Gennin hopefuls fight, all of them losing their matches. They all put up as much of a fight as they could, but none of them could win. Then the last match was about to be declared.

The match was to be for the Gennin Kikuchiyo. The boy was young, but at the same time stood slightly tally than Naruto. He was known for getting angry easily and often causing trouble with his loud noise and sometimes clumsy ways. He reminded Naruto of himself, as was loyal and he sought recognition. When given true recognition when given recognition, he would return favors fourfold.

Coming from Snow, Kiku, as he was often called, was one who acted most like a samurai. He wore a black, hakama that went above his waist. Around his waist was a yellow obi. Red metal boots could be seen on his feet. Over his upper legs were red metal plates that hung from large, red metal plating over his torso that had a yellow metal X across his chest. Over that, he wore a large haori. The haori was white below the waist and on the lower arms. The upper part was yellow apart from the black stitching. In the middle of the haori, just below the neck to his mid-torso, were two flaps that were folded outward. The flaps were black with two parallel yellow lines near the top. The haori was also slightly tattered along the bottom. He also had large white gloves with black stitching on his hands. In two slits in the haori on the shoulders two red metal plates, with the bottom half being yellow, stuck out. The final features were the red, metal helmet he wore that had a metal yellow crescent and circle on his forehead and his long orange hair that fell down his shoulders.

His sword was large enough to be considered a broad sword. The handle was made of two red, metal poles, about a foot and a half in length, that were connected by other pieces of metal. The blade itself had a serrated edge.

As he came out onto the field, waiting for his opponent to be announced he started shouting.

"Come on! I can take whoever you throw at me! Bring it on!"

Naruto gave a gesture to the proctor before standing up. He walked to the edge of his seating area before jumping off.

Kiku heard someone land behind him and turned to face his opponent. He was startled to see the Uzukage stretching his arms out.

"L-lord Uzukage. W-what are you doing here?"

"I'm stretching. Getting limber."

"W-why?"

"So I won't pull a muscle during our fight. You might want to get limber too."

Kiku was now nervous. He hadn't expected to be fighting the Uzukage, Naruto noticed his hesitation.

"You might want to draw that sword. When he says begin, I will begin." Naruto said.

Kiku nodded before stealing his resolve and drawing his sword.

"Begin!"

Naruto rushed in. Kiku quickly tried to bring his sword down on Naruto from above. Naruto quickly stopped and grabbed the sword between his two flat palms. He extended his leg and kicked Kiku in his chest while letting go of the sword. The young boy was sent flying. When he landed Kiku was quick to get back on his feet in time to block Naruto's fist with the flat of his sword. He copied Naruto by taking the opportunity to send Naruto flying. However, Naruto landed on his feet. Naruto instantly disappeared. Kiku looked around, trying to find his opponent.

"If this was real, and I was a merciless enemy you would already be dead." Naruto's voice said.

Kiku felt the top of his head and felt a boot. Naruto had been standing on top of his head, not moving or flinching. He had stood there with his arms folded. Kiku tried to grab him but missed as Naruto flipped over and quickly grabbed Kiku's arm. He quickly twisted it and folded it against the boy's back. In moments he had disarmed the boy and done the same to his other arm. Kiku was now on his knees, the bottom of a boot pressing down in between his shoulder blades.

"Kiku, all of your classmates have fought jounin. Never assume you can simply take on any opponent simply because you have been trained. There is always someone who can beat you. There is always someone stronger, faster, and/or smarter than you. Never forget that even the greatest shinobi in history have had to block any kunai or shuriken aimed for vital locations. Nod if you understand my words." Naruto said.

Kiku nodded. When Naruto released him he was told to go sit with the other students.

"Now," Naruto said, "You are all probably wondering why the Gennin were forced to fight jounin and higher." He said, pointing to himself when he said higher. "The reason is because I already know that these students are strong, have passed their tests, and can hold their ground. I wanted to see what they would do in the face of overwhelming odds. I wanted to see what they would do during their matches, even if they knew there was no way they could win. They fought to the best of their abilities, and that is what matters. Never compromise. Even in the face of Armageddon. I would now like to announce that all of the hopefuls who participated in this exam have all been promoted to the rank of Gennin. Congratulations." He said before starting to clap. Everyone in the stands was instantly clapping a shouting their own congratulations.

In moments Naruto had leaped back up to where his friends waited. "See Roku? All went as it was supposed to. They have all already been tested for their strength, speed, intelligence, and such. This exam was to test their resolve more than anything else."

"I understand now," Roku said.

"Alright, let's go celebrate. Shall we? I myself am hungry."

* * *

 _ **"Naruto,**_ we already told you we couldn't tell you anything about her. It's bad enough we told you that we know she's alive." Ryu said.

"I know that," Naruto said. "I just want you to give her that letter I just gave you."

They were in Naruto's office.

"Tell her what I told you. If she thinks it's important enough then fine. If not then you get reprimanded by her and destroy the letter. But I doubt that will happen. Just give her the message."

"Fine," Ryu said before disappearing.

"All the pieces are falling into place," Naruto said to himself.

* * *

 _ **"The**_ woman sat in her room at the inn she had taken to for the night. She was about to change out of her black shirt and pants into something to sleep. She looked at the medallion in her hand before setting it down and moving towards her bag. Before she could get there a red door appeared in front of her.

"What could Ryu want at a time like this?" She asked herself.

When she walked through the door she was on a platform in the center of a bridge with caves on either end.

In front of her were Ryu and the dragon boss summon.

The boss summon for the dragons was a massive humanoid dragon that appeared to be wearing armor. It wore golden armor on its claws, both hands, and feet, as well as mostly black armor everywhere else. Its wings almost appeared to be metal feathered wings, with small purple and gold coloring closer to the body while the feathers at the end were a reddish-orange. Floating behind it by some invisible force was a golden, stylized disk.

"Hello Ryu, Bahamut." She said.

"Yes. There is something we need to give you, Mikasa." Ryu said.

"What is it?"

"Naruto wanted us to give you a message."

"You told him about me?"

"Only that you exist. Nothing else."

"Fine, what is this message?"

Ryu gave her a small letter that he had been holding in his right hand. "He said it was about your brother," Ryu said.

She quickly took the letter and started reading it.

' _Hello, Mikasa,_

_I was able to get your name from the summoning contract. However, that's unimportant as I believe I know something about your brother, Akira Uzumaki. Meet me at the location below at the signified time and we shall see if I'm correct._

_-Naruto Uzumaki, Shodaime Uzukage.'_

She looked at the location and thought about it.

"Thank you, Ryu," Mikasa said. "I wonder what will happen now." She mumbled to herself.

* * *

 _ **Weeks**_ had passed since the exam as Naruto put together his plan for the Akatsuki. He was ready for them. The only problem was that he had no doubt they were also ready for him.

Shiva was starting to hover over a small forest as Naruto and everyone with them was about to disembark.

Standing on the ledge of one of the platforms were Naruto, Hinata, Shino, Roku, Kamaji, Itachi, Karin, Yagura, and Fuu.

Though Karin had been set as the leader of the barrier team, Naruto had had her sign the dragon contract as well. He had told her that it was for the Uzumaki as a whole to use the contract to aid the village.

"Naruto, you've had me monitoring the barrier all this time. Is it a good idea to have me on the mission as well?" Karin asked.

"Trust me, you and the rest of the Uzumaki are going to want to be with me later on."

When the Shiva came low enough they jumped off and landed in the trees. Naruto touched his ear to use the small radio.

"Shiva. You know the rendezvous location. Wait for us there." Naruto said.

"Of course." was the response he received.

Naruto turned to look at the others. "Alright, let's head out. You all know the plan. We can't get into Ame without being detected. The moment we get in we move quickly."

There was a collective 'hai'.

Eventually, Naruto and his team stood outside of Amegakure, staring at the difference as the sky quickly became obscured with dense storm clouds. They could see the metal high rises of the industrialized village standing in the rain.

"Naruto, what are we waiting for. I know the plan after we get in, but you haven't told me why we're waiting." Itachi said.

"Itachi, now that you are under my command you need to understand that there is a plan in everything." Naruto said before a four of people entered the clearing. "And I love it when a plan comes together. Chronicle, nice of you to join us." Naruto said to the man at the front of the group.

Chronicle already had his black cloak on with the hood over his head. At his sides were Meizu, Gozu, and Angela.

"The plan you sent to me was a little last-minute Naruto," Chronicle said.

"Of course it was," Naruto said with an amused tone. "I felt like seeing how quickly you would react to the new plan."

"Next time I want some warning," Chronicle said as he turned to Itachi.

"Don't look at me. I only learned about the plan a short while ago." Itachi said, holding his hands up defensively.

"Alright," Naruto said, "we're all here. We have work to do and villages to infiltrate. You all know the plan."

Instantly most of them were gone, leaving Naruto, Hinata, and Shino standing in the clearing. "Come on. Itachi has his part, Chronicle has his, the rest have theirs, and we have ours." Naruto said.

* * *

 _ **Itachi**_ opened the doors and stood before Pain. The two stood there for a moment before Pain spoke.

"Itachi, where are the Kyuubi jinchuriki and Kisame?"

Itachi sighed. "Kisame is currently the guest of the jinchuriki, who is waiting for you to meet him."

"Are you telling me that you are here on his behalf?"

"Yes, I am."

"I could kill you and still know where to find him. You know that."

"You are going to want to hear what he has to say, and he will be less likely to talk if I'm dead," Itachi said, turning to walk out the door he had come into. "You can follow, or you can kill me. Either way, he is waiting.

* * *

 _ **"Kabuto,**_ how are the experiments coming along?" Orochimaru asked.

"Project: Deadman is currently yielding very little results. So far we have only had one survivor out of the several hundred. The only problem is that he has yet to exhibit any of the physical enhancements we had hoped for." Kabuto said.

"Well, if he doesn't show any promise you may proceed to further the experimentation of the surviving subject."

"Well...he didn't show any of what we were looking for, but there is more to my report." Kabuto said, moving a large monitor on a cart in front of Orochimaru.

When he turned on the monitor a video played. There was a man laying down on a table, the first person to have actually survived the experiments. He laid there for a moment before convulsing violently. People with large devices over their eyes, and wearing large white robes ran over to him to see what was happening to their prized subject. He pulled against his restraints until his wrists started pouring out blood.

Orochimaru couldn't believe what was happening. The man's bloodshot up around him and lashed out at everything. The blood became sharp and solid, yet at the same time fluid. It not only ripped through the people around him and the restraints, but it also cut him across the chest. The cuts on his chest released more blood, in turn creating more tendrils that ripped around the room. Everyone around him fell, dead. With them dead the tendrils attacked the walls, creating a large gashed as pieces fell away. Holes opened up as the now unrestrained man stood up and staggered towards one of the large ones. He stopped and looked down at the blood flying from his wounds and ripping everything apart.

His hands flew to his face as he covered his eyes with clenched hands and started screaming. Oto shinobi appeared and tried to restrain him again. His left eye looked out through a gap in between his fingers. He looked out at the shinobi before the blood flying around the room stopped. It all flew to him, condensed around him. After a second it shot out and ripped the screaming shinobi apart. The severed pieces scattered across the room and smeared the walls with blood.

The man kept screaming before stumbling towards the hole to keep trying to escape. He stopped once again and started screaming louder than before and dropped to the ground, convulsing. His screams died and he stopped moving as more people in white coats came to get the man back on the table and under restraints. His blood fell to the floor and pooled around him, his wounds closing up rapidly.

The video stopped.

"From what we can tell, the man lost consciousness due to blood loss," Kabuto said. "He has been under heavy sedation ever since."

"How long ago was this?" Orochimaru asked.

"A little over two weeks before you got back."

"I want you to proceed with the experimentation. Get his blood to experiment with it, monitor him, and do whatever you need to in order to figure out what happened. I want to know what exactly that is."

* * *

 _ **Pain**_ stood on the small island with the rest of his paths. The island wasn't really an island, barely big enough for his paths and Itachi to stand on. The small chunk of the land itself was several miles away from Ame, out in the ocean.

"Where is he, Itachi?"

"He will be with you in a moment," Itachi said before disappearing in a murder of crows.

Pain waited a moment before looking down into the water. He could see the surrounding water becoming saturated with chakra. His eyes widened before all of the paths launched into the air.

"SUITON: UZUMAKI DESTRUCTION!" a voice yelled.

The water below started spinning rapidly, ripping the small island apart. Pain estimated that the resulting vortex had to have a radius of half a mile, the small island the center. It went on for a few moments before it all erupted.

"DOTON: FIELD OF SPEARS!"

The vortex was disrupted as sharp towers of stone erupted out of the water. They launched themselves upward, even branching off to create even more towers. To avoid them the Animal path used a summoning for a large bird to appear and lift it higher into the air.

The Naraka path was instantly impaled in the chest by one of the towers. The tower in its chest branched out, splitting the path into pieces.

The Preta path gabbed onto the spear about to go through his chest, quickly absorbing the chakra fueling it. As the stone stopped moving other stone spears branched out from other towers and ripped the path apart.

The Human path flipped over and landed on one of the towers launching at him. He ran downward, dodging any of the branched of spears that tried to impale him.

The Asura path pulled up its sleeve as the metal plate that made up its arms peeled back for a cannon to emerge and fire off a large blast of yellow. The incoming spears were destroyed. The path kept firing them off to destroy the branches that tried to come after it.

The main path, Deva path, held his hands out. "Shinra Tensei."

The remaining paths were able to land on small patches of unoccupied water as the towers came to a stop.

"FUTON: CHAOS STORM!"

A blast of wind blew the paths of their feet as the stone towers were destroyed and the ocean thrown into a frenzy. The pains were forced under the water. Deva saw the Preta path try to keep itself up, however, the inner mechanisms not only weighed it down but filled with water. Within moments it sank into the abyss.

As the storm raged on the surface, Naruto stood there. "I will need to thank Chronicle for this."

"RAITON: DESTRUCTION'S LIGHT!"

The wind started to condense as chakra constructed clouds that started to build electrical currents. Naruto directed them down into the water.

Pain didn't know where it was coming from, but the electricity that was frying the animal path was arching towards him and the human path. Deva quickly pulled the human path closer before launching his Shinra Tensei. The sphere pushed the water outward, allowing the two remaining paths to land on the surface of the water as it came rushing back in.

Pain looked over and saw the man standing several hundred yards away, black clots and white robe flapping in the wind. It took a moment for him to realize it was Naruto Uzumaki. Then he saw the man flash through hand signs before speaking. His tone sounded sadistic and quiet as he spoke.

"Katon: Desolation."

A wave of fire launched outward, already picking up billows of steam.

Deva was under water just before the fire hit him, though his left arm was slightly burned on his way down. He could feel the once freezing water starting to boil around him. The Human path was not as lucky. Through his shared vision, he could see the very flesh melt off of the Human path's hands. It wasn't long before he lost his link with said path. After several moments he saw the searing light from the fire die down, allowing him to float back to the surface and regain his footing. He saw the ocean itself was steaming all around him. Had this been used on land the destruction would have been a sight to wonder at.

Naruto was closer now. "I have to say you lasted longer than expected. I was hoping we could do a little one on one before we talk. I spent quite a bit of chakra on those jutsu, especially bringing the stone towers up from the seafloor. That took a good bit out of me. Now what do you say we do this with a nice battlefield?" he said before the water below them started to glow.

Pain looked down to see a writhing mass. A moment later and he saw that the mass was made up of thousands of chains, or one very long one, twisting against each other in the form of a massive cube. As the glowing, golden chains came to the surface they locked together. The cube breached the surface for them to stand on before stopping.

"I was told you wanted to talk." Pain said.

"Oh I do, but not to you. To your real face." Naruto said.

Pain paused. "So you deceived me."

"No, I made sure that everything went according to plan."

Naruto suddenly gripped his wrist as a light blue, almost white sphere formed in his hand.

"Over time I took the Rasengan and made it more...flexible," Naruto said before charging.

Pain jumped over him. Naruto put his right foot down in front of him and spun around. He bolted and drove the Rasengan into Pain's back. It quickly expanded and dug in before exploding. Pain was launched forward before flipping over to land on his feet.

"One of the biggest improvements I made to the jutsu was to be able to condense its form into a ball of pure destruction. Some other...improvements have been made. But, that's unimportant for the time being." Naruto said.

Naruto pulled a sword out of his robe before reaching into the sealing array and pulling out an already drawn sword. He quickly dashed forwards. Pain sent out another gravitational sphere. Naruto disappeared in a bright flash of black and white before the pain felt the sword go through its back. Pain turned around and kicked Naruto in the stomach. Naruto's sword had been taken from his grip when Pain turned around; it was still in his back and through his right set of ribs.

Naruto rushed in and tried to deliver another punch. Before he could get close some of the chains underneath him loosened and wrapped up his legs. He braced himself as Pain sent out another sphere, much larger than before. The moment it ended Naruto's legs were released and he went in again. Naruto delivered a particularly heavy blow to Pain's head. Pain knew that part of the skull in the deva path had to have been broken.

As they faced each other several explosions went off in the distance. Pain looked towards the direction of Ame, the source of the explosions.

Naruto sighed. "Chronicle, I told you to subdue Deidara in particular before the fights went too far. What are you doing over there?"

Naruto turned around, only for a fist to impact his face. He was sent back a few feet.

"My village is becoming a war zone now because of you." Pain said.

"You were the one who alerted the rest of the Akatsuki, as I knew you would. Don't you dare blame that on me. I just needed to get to the real you. My orders were for them to avoid any and all damage. Your people are the ones destroying the village. Tell them to stand down so that we can speak face to face. My goal was to have your paths out of the way so that we could talk. My other people were brought in case the rest of the Akatsuki was a problem. I brought your paths out here as a courtesy. My goal was never to damage the village. Tell them to stand down so that we can talk. Then I won't have to destroy this path as well."

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ stood before Nagato and Konan. His team, including Chronicle, who had his hood down, and his people, stood along the walls. Nagato was getting out of his mobile throne, the usage of his paths no longer keeping him immobile.

"Well Nagato Uzumaki, I'm very happy to finally meet you," Naruto said. "I think it's about time you and I had a conversation."

"What about?" Nagato asked.

"Before we get to the heart of things, I want to know why you formed the Akatsuki," Naruto asked the now standing Nagato.

"Why?"

"I thought that the answer to that question would be obvious to you of all people. I want to understand you. Granted I don't think it will change my goals in the slightest. But, I hope it will allow me to change your own."

"What are you after?" Nagato asked. He looked skeptical.

"All I want is to bring an end to corruption, destroy Konoha, and rebuild."

"Rebuild what exactly?"

"Everything."

Nagato looked at him, wondering what exactly he meant. "Fine, then I will tell you why. But later, I want to know exactly what you mean by that."

* * *

 _ **"So**_ you created the Akatsuki to bring about peace through the fear of your weapon. I have a better idea." Naruto said. "I would like you to join me. Both as an Uzumaki, and someone with similar goals."

"You want me to join you?"

"Yes, and I want you to bring the Akatsuki to my side as well. We can't have such destructive people on the loose. I also want to allow you to see a truth that Madara has hidden from you."

"What truth?"

"The truth of the Juubi he has you trying to resurrect."

"Explain."

"First off, I should explain that the Madara you have been dealing with is a fake. We're not sure who he is, though I have built up some theories." Naruto said, remembering his spies reporting similar abilities used by Kakashi of the Sharingan as the one Madara used. It gave Naruto a good idea. "The point is that the real Madara died a long time ago. Now to the Juubi I mentioned. Do you know what the Biju are? Second question, do you know what the statue you were planning to seal the Biju into is?"

Nagato looked into the corner at Itachi. Itachi nodded. He had told Naruto everything he knew.

"Apparently, whatever I know about them is either wrong, or a half-truth. What exactly is it that I'm missing?" Nagato asked.

"You were right when you said that they would create a weapon, but not one that you could control. Madara would most likely not allow it. The statue is the husk that once made up the body of the Juubi. The form from which that nine Biju were created by the Sage of Six Paths. He then sealed the husk in the moon. By rejoining them you would recreate a monster that has the potential to destroy everything. Though, I have a theory that Madara has a specific purpose for it. As well as for you, or rather your eyes."

"What are you talking about?"

"I won't go into detail at this exact moment for two reasons. The first is that you are not yet my ally, and the second is that I don't like the prying eye in the corner over there." Naruto said.

They all turned to where he pointed.

"Come on Madara, materialize so that we can sense you and chat." Naruto said. He didn't like how difficult it was to detect Madara when he was in his intangible state. Conventional sensory techniques did nothing to detect the man.

The man who had been going as Tobi for the past few years walked out of the shadows and looked around. A noticeable difference was a slash across the mask he wore. Madara stood there without making a sound.

"Come on Madara. You aren't still mad about our last run in are you? I thought you would have gotten over that little scratch." Naruto said in a cheerful tone.

Naruto started laughing as he remembered the last time the two had encountered each other. Naruto had been able to antagonize the man enough to make the man talk about him being Madara, as well as the night he tried to destroy Konoha the night he was born. Naruto had even been able to draw out the fight long enough to scratch the man's mask. It had been useful experience against the man.

Madara had actually tried to recruit him. He had tried to get Naruto to not only come with him willingly but also to work for him until he was no longer needed.

"Perhaps you could reconsider my offer," Madara said, brushing off his comment.

"No. Perhaps you could tell me what your plan is. Maybe you could tell me why I should reconsider."

"Nagato, could you help me subdue the jinchuriki now? The plan must proceed."

"No Madara. I have never trusted you. And I will no longer serve you either." Nagato said.

Madara let out a small sigh. "You want to know my plan? You already know most of the details thanks to these traitors. I see no harm in telling you what you most likely know if what you said is true. The plan is called Tsuki no me. The eye of the moon plan, in which I will create the infinite dream world of the Infinite Tsukuyomi. I will bring about a perfect world. Now just surrender."

"Well, Madara. Now that I have confirmed that your plan is what I thought it was, maybe I can recruit you. You once brought Kisame to your side by telling him you would create a world without lies. Now I will try to do the same, though to a different degree. With the notes of the Sage, I was able to discover the true purpose of the Infinite Tsukuyomi. With you gathering Biju I figured that had to be the end game." Naruto spread his arms outward before smiling. "Its purpose was to create a monster beyond even your control or the original Madara. To resurrect the mother of the Sage."

"What are you talking about?" Madara asked.

"Oh, yes. The real Madara probably left that detail out. Though I doubt he knew it himself." Naruto said before pulling out a scroll and tossing it to Madara. "Take a look at that and get back to me. I will leave a section of the barrier down just for you. In that scroll is everything you need to know about your false plan." He said before Madara disappeared.

"Naruto, would you mind telling me what just happened?" Chronicle asked.

He could see that Nagato was on his side now, if just barely. "Chronicle, I just made the organization you wanted to destroy, my ally. I told you that it was possible with the correct motivation."

"Naruto Uzumaki, I have yet to decide what side I fall on. Do not be so quick to call me your ally."

"Regardless, you are no longer an enemy. Not to mention that I have faith in you to not allow the members of the Akatsuki to run wild. For now-" he cut himself off. He smiled. "My other incentive has arrived. If my calculations are correct, then I have assembled every last living Uzumaki together in one room." He said before the room flashed black and white. A clone stood there with a woman. The woman had short red hair and dark blue eyes. "Hello, Mikasa. I'm so glad you could come. Now, perhaps you could tell me whether or not I was correct? He's right over there." Naruto said, pointing at Chronicle.

Chronicle had frozen as his eyes locked with those of Mikasa. She said something. One word. "Akira."

Mikasa and Akira were two words that sent his mind reeling. He saw the memory from before. He saw his older sister, her short red hair. He saw his father, a monstrous man trying to avenge his fallen wife with the power of a sage. He saw the wings on his father's back envelop him before the smell of burning flesh attacked his senses. He saw Ryu take them to someone he trusted. He saw everything. He snapped.

"Akira. It is you, right? It's been a long time, but I can still tell somehow." Mikasa said.

Chronicle didn't respond at first. Then he fell to his knees, releasing a loud scream.

Mikasa's eyes widened in panic. "No. You need to restrain him. Now!" She said.

Chronicle gripped his head and continued screaming. He started seeing his family dying, repeatedly. He even saw Mikasa, as she died. He saw her die, and the people responsible for it. They would all die. He would find them, and they would all die.

A dark aura started surrounding Chronicle as his screams became deeper and rougher. His black robe started being torn away as black armor started to form around him.

The armor was pitch-black armor with a rustic helmet with a thinly carved slit displaying a ghastly red glow. The armor appeared to be the work of the delicate and nuanced workmanship of its smith's utmost effort, succeeding in granting it an air of formidability and a fine construction. It was a perfect set of armor that could be called neither exquisite nor crude, and it instead perfectly melded magnificence and functionality. It was carved with countless marks and scratches, the highlights of various military exploits etched into it to add a touch of valor. It was, in a way, an ideal battle outfit. Slits between the plating of the armor began to release a glow similar to the one from the slit over his eyes. The aura of black intensified as Chronicle stood up and released another yell, though it sounded more like the roar of an animal.

His yelling stopped all of a sudden before looking at Mikasa. He was instantly gone, reappearing with his hand gripping Mikasa's throat. He had her lifted off the ground.

"I saw you die. I...saw...you...die." His graveled voice said the tone was low and dark.

"You thought you did. I was severely injured, but not killed. You did what you're doing now, you killed some of them and chased the others away. But then you disappeared. I've been looking for you for so long." She said as best she could.

"I...don't...believe...you." He said, drawing one of his swords. The sword had turned black, red veins running along the blade.

His grip on her neck was gone as he turned around to slash his blade at Naruto, who had come up behind him to try to stop him.

Naruto jumped back before drawing his own sword and coming back. He blocked Chronicle's sword with his own before creating a Rasengan in his other hand and shoving it into the man's face. Chronicle was sent into the wall before his armor faded. He was unconscious.

"Don't worry, whatever that armor was protected him from the attack. It's a good thing that whatever was happening to him caused him to go berserk or that fight would have taken longer." Naruto said. He then looked at Mikasa. "Whatever just happened to him, you knew about it. I expect an explanation." Naruto said.

"And you'll get one," Mikasa said. "But perhaps I could also get an explanation for why you decided to gather us all here."

"Oh, that? I wanted to finally bring the Uzumaki together. We have a lot of work to do, and not much time."

"Why should that matter to me?"

"You sound like you're trying to challenge me. Perhaps you should first hear the word of those who just helped you, rather than snap at them." Naruto said. "Now, I believe explanations are needed for all present. Let's begin."


	14. Chapter 14

_**Chronicle**_ was sedated, resting on the hospital bed. Sitting at his bedside was Angela, though she had fallen asleep in her chair. The other occupants were the rest of the Uzumaki clan, including Nagato, as well as Hinata and Shino.

"Alright, we have a few things to settle here," Naruto said. The others were tense and quiet and had been for the past ten minutes. "Now, as much as I would love to get to the matter of the Akatsuki, I think an explanation is due. Mikasa, I want to know what happened to Chronicle."

She paused before nodding and shifting in her own seat. "When Ryu took us away to his trusted friend, he didn't know that his friend had recently gotten too deep with some unsavory people. He owed one man, in particular, a lot of money. When the man came he brought people with weapons, incendiaries, and death. The friend tried to plead with him, give him more time to get the money. The man wouldn't accept it. He lit the place on fire, killed the friend, his family, and even tried to kill my brother and me. While we were running they caught up to us. One of them stabbed me with a dagger. I was lucky he didn't hit my heart, but it still caused me to collapse. Akira lost it after that. I didn't know how, but the same black armor from before formed around him. It was the same size, but it seemed to have him inside of its torso. He killed several of them, forcing those who were left to run. After that, I saw the armor pick me up. When I woke up he was gone and I was laying on a bed in some inn, a doctor keeping an eye on me. He told me that I was found under a tree, wrapped in cloth that covered most of my body."

"What about that armor?" Nagato asked. "That didn't just appear. Do you know anything about it?"

"Actually, yes. I was able to find a journal that belonged to our mother. What she never told us, and probably never intended to was that she herself came from a clan. The clan was known for their abilities to use natural energy. However, unlike the rest of her clan, she was unable to use this ability. No one told her why, but after a while, she was cast out, sent to live anywhere else. From what I could glean, she had eventually developed abilities similar to her clan's, though there were differences and she couldn't use it very well or for long. Another difference was that she had some form of control while using it. My guess is that Akira inherited this ability, but to a much higher degree." Mikasa said.

"I know the clan you're talking about," Naruto said. "Jugo. He's a member of that clan, and the whole reason Orochimaru could develop the curse mark. However, I don't know where he is. Somewhere with Orochimaru."

There was a pause. "Would you mind me asking what you intend to do next?" Mikasa asked.

Naruto stood up. "For now, I intend to get something to eat. There is something to eat here, right Nagato?"

"Yes. For now, you are guests in my village, and as your host, I will provide you all with places to stay as well as food and anything else you need. Within reason of course. Later on, you and I can talk more, Naruto." Nagato responded.

It took a few moments, but they all started leaving the room. Roku asked Nagato to remain behind for a moment.

"Nagato, I would like to talk to you about your eyes," Roku said.

"What about them?" Nagato asked.

"Why don't you ever deactivate them?"

"What do you mean?"

Roku sighed before activating his own Rinnegan.

"So I'm not alone. But you can activate them at will. I do not have that luxury," Nagato said.

"And I can tell you why. I don't know why they are able to stay active without constantly draining your chakra, but these were not the eyes you were born with."

"What do you mean?"

"Your eyes were transplanted from someone else."

"That is correct." A voice said from the corner. They turned to see Madara standing there. "Those eyes once belonged to the real Madara Uchiha." They were stunned to hear his words. "I will explain later. For now, some of the Akatsuki are about to cause trouble with the jinchuriki."

Madara disappeared as Roku and Nagato hurried after Naruto and the rest of the group.

"Deidara, calm down or I will kill you. For whatever reason, Pain wants us leaving them alone." Kakazu said.

"Screw that! I want to know what made things change so quickly!" Deidara said, grabbing Naruto by the collar. "Why are we leaving the jinchuriki alone?! We're supposed to be capturing them to make a weapon!"

"I suggest you remove your hands from the Uzukage, Deidara," Nagato said, walking up to them.

"And who the hell are you?!" Deidara asked. He then noticed the black rods sticking six inches out of Nagato's back through the holes in the back of his Akatsuki cloak.

"I had nearly forgotten. None of you have seen who I really am. I am Nagato Uzumaki, also known as Pain." Nagato said.

"What are you talking about?" Kakazu asked. He then noticed Nagato's eyes.

They were startled as Deva appeared next to Nagato.

"Through the power of the Rinnegan, I am able to control the six paths in six separate bodies. But the real center is-" Deva said.

"Is me," Nagato said. "Now, as for why we are now leaving them alone, the plan has changed."

"Yes, and I hope for the better of an alliance with Uzu," Naruto said, straightening his shirt. "I would like to have you on my side."

"As I have told you before Naruto, I have yet to decide on the matter," Nagato said.

"Could someone explain to me why we keep talking about Uzu?" Kakazu asked.

"Because I'm its leader," Naruto said. "Nagato, would you be kind enough to gather the rest of the Akatsuki for me? I would like to talk with them, and you sometime in the near future. Uzu is about to make some serious moves, including one against Orochimaru, soon. The same goes for you, Madara."

"You really are going to need to tell me how you can detect me when I'm intangible," Madara said as he stepped around a corner.

"And I will. But for now, I'm still hungry." Naruto said, turning to continue walking down the hall.

* * *

 _ **Several**_ hours passed before Naruto, Mikasa, and Angela decided to try waking Chronicle up. Before they had done that they had restrained him as a precaution. It took a few moments, but Chronicle started to open his eyes.

He looked up and saw Mikasa. He started struggling.

"You were dead. You were dead. You were dead!" Chronicle yelled.

"Chronicle!" Naruto shouted, getting the man's attention with the deeper tone he used. "Calm down and listen. Mikasa has things to tell you, and now that you have some of your memory back you can talk with her. I already know as much as I need to know about your past. You two need to talk though. Get it together and listen to what she has to say. You two have a lot of catching up to do. In a couple of days, I'm having a meeting with the Akatsuki on the Fugaku. I hope you'll be there." His voice then turned soft as he looked at Mikasa and Angela. "I will see you all later. For now, I have work to do," he said before disappearing in a shunshin.

Chronicle slowly looked at Mikasa, there were tears in his eyes. "How are you alive? I saw you die."

"The blade that he tried to kill me with barely missed my heart. The fact that you can't remember taking me to an inn means that the armor that formed around you was somehow acting on its own. Now I think it's time we talk about where we've been all this time." She said, undoing the straps that held him to the hospital bed.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ finally took his own seat in the meeting room on the Fugaku. The room itself had different paintings along the walls, as well as large potted plants. The walls were painted a vibrant blue, black lines weaving around to form various patterns.

When he sat down he looked at the various faces of the Akatsuki, as well as Mei, Gaara, Madara, Chronicle, Angela, Mikasa, Itachi, and even Kisame who was now unrestrained.

"So then, I think that the first matter that should be settled is you, Madara."

"I agree," Nagato said. Chronicle nodded I agreement as well.

"Actually, I want to know why some of our Kages are here," Sasori said, no longer in his puppet shell.

"We are here because this meeting will also be one of politics," Gaara said.

"We can discuss that later. For now, we have some important things to be settled." Mei said, gesturing to Madara.

Madara pulled off his mask, laying it on the long conference table. None of them really knew who he was, other than Naruto.

"So I was right. Obito Uchiha. I am going to assume that the whole reason you're alive, was the real Madara Uchiha. Especially considering what you told Nagato about his Rinnegan."

"That is correct," Obito said.

"I know about the mission you were supposedly killed during, but how did you survive?" Naruto asked.

"Madara had created artificial bodies that were clones of Hashirama, he called Zetsu, and one of them retrieved me. When I woke up I had some of the artificial body replacing my heavily damaged body. I eventually found out that Kakashi and Rin were trying to escape a group of Kiri shinobi." Obito said. He then went on to explain everything that had happened after he saw Kakashi kill rin. He also told how he went on to convince Yahiko to form the Akatsuki. He then told how he had taken Madara's eyes and transplanted them into Nagato long before any of this. He also told how the plan was to have Nagato use the Rinnegan to revive Madara later on.

"So you intended to use Nagato as a pawn. Things didn't go quite as planned." Chronicle said.

"Yes. The only problem is that Zetsu was not quite what Madara or I thought. They were the original victims of Kaguya Otsutsuki's Infinite Tsukuyomi. They have been stored in the Juubi husk, mutating over time. The entity known as Black Zetsu was created by Kaguya before she was sealed, and was able to pull the white Zetsu out of the statue, letting Madara believe they were a product of Hashirama's cells and the statue." Obito said.

"If you don't mind me asking, how do you know all of this about Zetsu?" Chronicle asked.

"That would be because of me." Said a voice. They all looked to see a spiraled body walking up to the table. "I am Guruguru."

"Yes. When I was first saved be Madara, he and the original White Zetsu were my caretakers. Eventually, they became my friends. Though Guruguru has opted for joining me, the other White Zetsu are still with Black Zetsu."

"I don't trust him," Chronicle said, not bothering to say it any other way.

"Nor do I trust you," Obito said. "I understand not trusting him. Even I am slightly skeptical, but he has given plenty of information up till now."

"I think it would be best to save that conversation for later," Naruto said. "For now I think it's time we get to the political nature of the situation. Nagato, you have still yet to tell me where you would stand. I would very much like to count your village and nation as a part of the Orb Union."

"You have still yet to explain what that is," Nagato said.

Naruto chuckled before he pulled a large scroll from his robes. He undid a strap and allowed it to roll outward along the table. The scroll unraveled across the table, sealing arrays projecting themselves upward as it went. When it finally came to a stop it had created an image of the elemental nations with all of their borders to appear over the table for all to see.

"This, as you can no doubt see, it the elemental nations. Now, everything in red is what we currently call the Orb Union." Naruto said, moving his hand on a part of the sealing array. In response to his touch, a red outline appeared around a large portion of the countries that made up the map. "Now, as you can tell, Kaze no Kuni and Mizu no Kuni make up a large portion of Orb. Then you have the Land of Frost and its village, Shimogakure, the Land of Hot Water and its village, Yugakure, Takigakure and some of its surrounding lands, the Land of Waves, and some patches of these lands here in between some of the major nations are part of Orb. Frost, Hot Water, and Canyons all joined me with their villages seeing as how their Daimyo live within their village walls, either as the leader or with the leader. Rivers and Forests took some separate negotiating with their Daimyos and the leaders of their hidden villages to put together an agreement for them to join me. Takigakure joined easily after I destroyed a large portion of it. And with said village's destruction, the land fell apart. It's why I have only gotten a few portions of the land to join me. The chaos there makes things difficult. Then there are the allies to Orb. The Land of Rivers and its village, Tanigakure, the Land of Forests and its village, Kusagakure, the Land of Canyons and its village, Ishigakure, are all allies." Naruto said as the seals responded to his touch again and blue outlines appeared around said locations. "And then, of course, there's the central hub. Uzu no Kuni and Uzushiogakure. My home is what has held Orb together." He said, using the scroll to outline Uzu in white. "And you have no idea, Nagato, how difficult it was to remain off radar for so long doing all of this. Even harder to keep Orb from being known about. You should know a bit about that considering how much effort you've had to put into keeping the depth and members of your organization from being discovered. One of the things that have helped is that I have kept any of them from knowing about any of the others. They don't even know about Uzu. They only know that Mizu and Suna are part of Orb and that I'm its leader and founder."

Nagato was silent for a few moments. "So you want Ame to become part of this Orb Union."

"That is correct. With this, you would have access to our trade routes, better funding, and any aid you require. Granted, you could simply become an ally to the Union. There would be differences in such a case, one such being that you would not get as much of the things offered before, or that you would be treated with a different status in the politics that we use. I'm sure you get the point by now." Naruto said.

"And if I refuse to join or become an ally?" Nagato asked.

Naruto spread his arms out, showing an expression of disbelief that Nagato had asked such a question in such a way. "You act as if I'm twisting your arm to go one way or another. If you decline my offer I leave here, maybe try to recruit a few of these Akatsuki members, and I go back home on my Fugaku. I might extend trade routes later on, but that will be the end of it."

Nagato couldn't see any hint of deception from what Naruto said. "Allow me to sleep on it. I will bring you an answer tomorrow."

"Of course," Naruto said. "You allowed us to be guests in your home, so I ask that you stay here on the Fugaku until then. It's not home, but we've tried to make it as close as possible."

"Yes, I think that would be a good opportunity to take a look at who I would be joining if I so choose to."

"Feel free to wander the ship if you wish. There will be some restricted areas, but other than that you will be fine to do as you please, within reason of course. Also, if you have any questions or want to know where something is or if we have such a location here then you simply need to ask."

As Naruto was walking out of the meeting room he was stopped by Kakuzu.

"Ah, Kakuzu. I was hoping to be the one that approached the Akatsuki members, not the other way around." Naruto said, extending his hand. Kakuzu didn't even look at the hand.

"You said you destroyed Takigakure."

Naruto nodded. "I am aware of your hatred for the village. It's amazing how some people will turn on the people who protect them. I felt the village needed to be destroyed for other reasons, but that was one of them. A while later I went there and took over before rebuilding it. Now I have my own people overseeing the village."

"Did they suffer?"

"I believe that those who deserved to did in fact suffer."

"Then you should know that being on your side just became a more likely outcome for me."

"Another reason you should know is that Orochimaru is on my hit-list. I trust you know what kind of bounties there are on his head."

"Indeed," Kakuze said before pausing a moment. "I will take your offer into consideration."

Kakuzu was about to leave when Naruto spoke up again.

"Can I ask why you are so obsessed with money, Kakuzu?" Naruto asked.

He saw the man flinch and some form of sadness enter the man's eyes.

"Perhaps..." he said, his tone quiet. "Perhaps some other time.

Kakuzu turned and was gone seconds later. Naruto sighed and continued walking. He had other people he needed to talk to.

Eventually, he came to what he knew to be an art gallery on the ship. It was another one of the recreational areas to help keep the crew from becoming stir-crazy or restless. It was a large ship with plenty of room, but people still needed things to help them relax.

The gallery itself had gold patterns on the walls with dark blue backgrounds. The walls themselves could be considered works of art. There were dozens of different art forms in different areas of the gallery ranging from paintings to origami and statues to puppets. Naruto really didn't consider puppets art sometimes, but he could see why some would think so. He assumed it had something to do with why people liked statues. Some believed it helped capture form, while others simply like to look at what could be done. He guessed it also had something to do with the mechanics that went into the puppets themselves.

The gallery was oftentimes full of people who were off duty who came to relax and contemplate the meaning behind the art or simply to gaze at the works.

As he walked around he eventually came upon Konan, Sasori, and Deidara standing around the same area. Deidara looked about ready to blow. Then he saw Naruto.

"Hey, you call this art?! Where are the explosions?!" Deidara shouted.

"It's a bit difficult to keep a ship together with explosions going off for people to marvel at. Besides, most people don't consider explosions art unless the circumstances are different." Naruto said. "Not to mention that my version of art is something you two have no ability to comprehend at this point, that is if your actions are anything to go by." He said, looking at both Sasori and Deidara.

"Then what is your version of art?" Konan asked.

"Ah, someone who likes the art of origami. You are different in that you do not claim that one art is better than another. You asked what my true art is. True art is human mortality. This is true art because of a multitude of reasons. The first is that those who shine brightly might not last long, thus living a short life, but their memory and image lasts in a way that makes them immortal. And then there is the art that can spawn from such mortality. A man once asked me 'When do you think people die? When they are stabbed through the heart with a blade? No. When they are ravaged by an incurable disease? No. When they drink a soup made from a poisonous mushroom?! No!' So I asked when people died. He said, 'It's when... they are forgotten.' The beauty of any art always sprouts from the human mind, but if we were immortal we would most likely not be so worried about making the beauty that we forge in our art. It would eventually lose its taste. We would all be focused on other things. It is from our mortality that all beauty spawns. Whether it be these paintings, Sasori's puppets, or even music." Naruto said, pulling a small instrument from his robes. "This is a tsuchibue, or earthen flute, also called and ocarina." He said before bringing it to his lips and playing a soft, yet strong, melody that not only lasted a minute but then echoed through the room. When he finished he put the flute away. "The notes fade quickly, but such a tune, or even its echo, can stay with someone forever. Perfect art is brought on by the perfect imperfection that is mortality." He said as the echoing tune finally faded.

The three were stunned by his words.

"And here I stand babbling on. The biggest reason I'm here is not to discuss philosophy with the three of you. I'm here because I want to know if any of you would like to join should your leader say no to my offer."

There was a long pause.

"If Nagato says no, I have no intention of leaving his side," Konan said.

"I respect your loyalty to your friend. To be honest, if you left his side at the drop of my offer, I would probably have killed you anyway. You should know why." Naruto said.

Konan was slightly disturbed by his words but nodded anyway. She could understand.

"What about you two? The only reason you're with the Akatsuki is that you're criminals." Naruto said to the two artists.

"Well, I always have wanted to test myself against the old fence-sitter," Deidara said. "Something tells me the stubborn fool will find some way to be against you. You can count me in for the time being."

"Hmm...It will be at the prime opportunity to obtain more puppets. If our leader refuses, I would not object to joining you." Sasori said.

"And what about afterward? What will you two do when I'm done?"

"Uzu my man, I'll destroy that bridge when I get to it," Deidara said before walking away.

"While his way of putting it is blunt, I can say the same. What I intend to do afterward has yet to be seen. That will depend on what I think of you and what you are creating. You have plenty of potential to be the perfect puppet should you fall in combat. We shall see." Sasori said before leaving as well.

Konan was still standing there. "I want to ask you a question."

"Ask away," Naruto said.

"What if Nagato were to stand in your way during all of this, were he to refuse and then become an obstacle?"

"The answer is simple. I don't like it, but if he stands in the way of what I'm going to do I will have no choice but to remove him. Whether or not that requires ending his life or not will be up to him should such a thing come to pass."

Knoan nodded, understanding completely.

Naruto turned to leave. As he walked away he spoke over his shoulder. "You are a good person. I admire and respect your loyalty. Should Nagato or you or both ever come to blows with me, I will try everything I can to make sure that such a grim ending doesn't come to pass."

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ stood with Fuu next to one of the arenas on the large ship, watching Chronicle sparing against Yagura. They had been sparing for nearly half an hour and both were starting to lose steam. Naruto had been forced to use seals to set up a barrier after they started going all out, using techniques such as Electromagnetic Murder and Tearing Torrent.

In a split moment, Yagura had sprouted a red chakra tail to slam Chronicle into a nearby tree.

"Not so easy to take me down when I'm not under a genjutsu," Yagura said, a small smirk on his face.

"I wouldn't have lost if you had stuck to the rules," Chronicle said. "You said you wouldn't use your Biju chakra."

Yagura walked over and offered his hand to help him up. Chronicle took it as Naruto and Fuu walked over.

"Almost makes me wonder how the fight would have turned out if Chronicle had used that armor of his. How goes the progress on that?" Naruto asked, offering the two a couple of water canteens.

"Nonexistent," Chronicle said, taking one of the canteens. "Every time I try to access it I start to lose control. It's all I can do to shut it down once I've started."

"Sounds like when a jinchuriki tries to practice controlling their Biju's chakra," Yagura said before taking a drink. "I wonder if learning to control it will require similar training."

"It wouldn't surprise me," Naruto said. "Fuu discovered something recently that was not entirely relevant until now. Ever wonder where some of the Biju have been all this time? Shukaku, Isobu, Son Goku, Gyuki, and Kurama have been held by villages for a very long time. However, Matatabi, Kokuo, Saiken, and Chomei have only recently come into the position of some of the villages. Tell them what you told me." He said, gesturing to Fuu.

"Yes," Fuu said. "Chomei has let me in on the fact that they were once held by four clans that worked together to build the strength and durability of their bodies by extracting and resealing the Biju repeatedly. They also used the Biju chakra to expedite the growth of their children before they were even born. Over time these clans merged into one clan known as the Shizen Clan or Nature Clan. The clan had developed a link to nature energy that sometimes caused rampages when it went out of control. Out of fear, the clan had been attacked to the point of near-extinction. One thing that allowed them to survive is that every few generations emerged a member of the clan that even they feared. The member would be born with a lack of ability for natural energy. However, they would eventually develop a much stronger and darker version of their abilities. These people were ostracized when not needed due to fear of their power. Eventually, the practice emerged to cast them out before their abilities emerged. Anyways, one of the villages that helped with fighting the clan was Taki. Eventually, they were able to get a hold of Chomei. The same can go for the other villages and their second Biju."

"Makes sense. Trying to use Biju chakra without training causes you to lose control. The same can be said about that clan and their abilities." Yagura said.

"Naruto, the meeting is about to start again," Shino said, appearing beside them in a shunshin.

"Thank you, Shino. Alright. Let's go."

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ stood on top of the end of the main cannon of the Fugaku. He was calm and was neither angry nor happy.

Nagato had said that for now, he would refuse Naruto's offer to join or ally himself with Orb, but he was open to trade routes being set up between Ame and any nation of Orb. He was also fine with the situation of most Akatsuki members handing in their cloaks and joining Naruto. It did unsettle him somewhat that most of their members had left, but he still had Konan and the actual organization that handled everything. Naruto had told Nagato how he still respected the man and had changed his robe to show it.

Nagato had asked him why he had changed his robe the way he did. Naruto had simply responded that he still considered himself Ame's ally, and that should they need him he would be there. Everyone tried to say that he was being overly dramatic, but after some arguing and debate, they had settled on sentimental.

The changes in Naruto's cloak had shocked some of them. The outline of the Uzumaki crest that rested between his shoulders was now a bright red while it was filled with a vibrant blue. The lettering for Shodaime Uzukage still went down his back, but the colors were divided down the middle. The reason for this was because the right side of the cloak was white with the right half of the lettering being black, while the left side of the cloak was black with the left half of the lettering being white. On the white side, there were orange flame motifs along the bottom and side edges of the cloak with a black outline to the tongues of flame. The black side had a lone red cloud with a white outline near the bottom, just above where the flame motifs would have been.

It had shocked Nagato that, even without Ame being part of Orb, Naruto would still bare the symbol of the Akatsuki and of Ame's endured suffering.

Once everything had finally been explained to him, Kisame had decided to join Naruto along with Itachi. Itachi had noted that Kisame's loyalty to him had surprised even him.

Madara had decided to return once he had found a place to hide the statue of the outer path somewhere away from Black Zetsu. He had said that once it was done he would help both Ame and Uzu, though he would be making Uzu his home.

Naruto finally took a moment to breathe in the air. He thought about what he was about to do, about the chaos he was about to unleash. He knew that many had already seen the Fugaku so it was already too late to cancel.

"Oh well. What better way to announce yourself to the world than with one massive explosion. Deidara is right on that point. Nothing catches the eye better than that." he drew in a deep, calming breath and released it. "Fire the main cannon," Naruto said.

* * *

 _ **Zetsu**_ moved through a wall and looked at the extensive hallway that expanded to either side.

" **Damn that Obito. Now we have no pawn, no Rinnegan, and no statue."** Black Zetsu said.

"But we can still get Orochimaru to help us with the right incentive." White Zetsu said.

Before either of them could do more there was a large explosion as the entire hideout shook violently.

" **What was that?"**

* * *

 _ **"What**_ the hell is going on?!" Orochimaru yelled.

"Sir, you might want to take a look at this." One of the Oto shinobi said. Orochimaru walked over to a small screen that displayed a massive fortress outside of his hideout.

"Where did that come from?!" Orochimaru demanded.

"Sir, we are getting reports that the fortress is mobile and getting closer." One of them said before the image flashed as the fortress fired again. A moment later the entire base shook again.

"Sir! They're in the base!" another voice said from a doorway before the newcomer was cut down.

Behind him stood a blonde man in a black and white cloak.

"Just who do you think you are?!" Orochimaru demanded.

"I am Naruto Uzumaki. Itachi, please restrain him." Naruto said. Orochimaru tried to create a mud cone to get away, but before he could Itachi appeared and used Orochimaru's surprise to trap him within the Tsukuyomi. Orochimaru fell face-first onto the ground.

"Anko, would you like the honor?" Naruto said.

Anko walked up behind him before taking a piece of paper out of Naruto's hands and walking up to Orochimaru's prone form. She placed it on him and channeled chakra into the prewritten seal. Instantly the man was writhing in pain before his motion and life stopped.

"That was anti-climactic," Anko said. "I expected more."

"Yeah, so did I. Now, we still have some rats to take care of. Come on, let's finish this up so that we can seize Oto without much trouble."

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ stood in one of the large rooms on the Fugaku, Roku standing in front of him.

"So, is it finally that time?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. I helped you secure Oto, but now it's time for me to pass on my last gift." Roku said.

"You never did tell me how you did it," Naruto said.

"You'll know soon enough."

"So that's how you're going to do it?"

"Yes," Roku said, walking up to Naruto. "You gave me hope for this world. Thank you." A lone tear fell down his face. "Goodbye Naruto."

* * *

 _ **"Tsunade,**_ we have a problem," Jiraiya said.

They were all in a council meeting, Sasuke sitting in one of the chairs.

Jiraiya had set up a projector and screen that was now showing some of the images his network had been able to collect.

"What is that?" Danzo asked, looking at the massive fortress moving across the ground.

"That is a mobile fortress that bears the title Fugaku. It is also a ship. We haven't been able to gather many details about it other than the fact that it attacked what we later identified as one of Orochimaru's hideouts. It had been cleaned out and mostly destroyed when my network got there to check it out. Not only that, but they were discovered and chased away. They did, however, collect a valuable piece of information." Jiraiya said, pulling up an image of Naruto standing on the main cannon. From this angle, they could only see his face and the black cloak with a red cloud on it.

"Are you telling me that Naruto has joined the Akatsuki? I thought that their goal was to extract the Biju, not recruit their containers." Tsunade said.

"That's what I thought," Jiraiya said. "But I think we can all tell that things have just changed. We still don't know where he's been hiding or what he can do right now. What we do know is that he is a threat, now more than ever." He said before flashing to another image of Naruto looking directly at them through the photo, a smirk on his face.

"He knew they were there the whole time. He wanted them to see this." Sasuke said.

Danzo was working out in his mind how he was going to deal with this.

It could be a problem for them all.

"And that's not the only problem," Jiraiya said.

"You're talking about Suna and all those others aren't you," Tsunade said.

"Yes. As of now, Suna, Wave, and Kiri have voided all trade agreements and treaties."

There was silence.

* * *

 _ **Kabuto**_ was trying to run, his left arm hanging limply. His entire body was covered in cuts and gashes. He had seen Orochimaru fall to Itachi's genjutsu and had run, though not unscathed. He then fell over as he lost consciousness.

"Are you sure about this?" White Zetsu asked.

" **We don't have much choice. He can still be forged into a good pawn. Come on, let's take him."** Black Zetsu said before they grabbed Kabuto and disappeared.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ sat down at the restaurant with Hinata sitting next to him. Now that everything was done with Orochimaru and the Akatsuki, they were taking the time to relax like they had talked about before.

Naruto had been able to quickly take over Oto and all of the subsidiary bases before having the Uzu five keep in charge of it while he was gone. Sakon and Ukon had found something that they wanted him to take a look at, but Naruto had told them that I would need to wait for now.

Hinata had told Naruto to order for them while she was in the restroom. Not long after she came back and then their food came. They both ate, talked, and laughed for the next hour, Hinata spending some of the time with her head on Naruto's shoulder, before they paid the bill and left. The walked down the streets of Konoha, genjutsu hiding their true faces. Naruto had a slight blush as Hinata latched onto his arm.

They continued walking in silence for a while before coming to stand on top of the Yondaime's head on the Hokage monument. The stood there for a moment before sitting down, Hinata leaning against Naruto as he put an arm around her.

"Phase four starts soon. All that's left is the jinchuriki." Hinata said.

"I know. If this doesn't work, things are going to be more difficult than anticipated. But I have faith in you Hinata."

"Thank you."

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ had been walking down the road with Kakazu for most of the day before they had decided to set up camp. The three were travelling to recruit the jinchuriki, the rest of their team set to rendezvous with them outside of Iwa once they had found and attempted to recruit Utakata.

They had been there for a while, eating some of the rabbit and fish that Naruto had sent a couple of clones to hunt.

As they sat there, Naruto had decided to ask his question again. "Kakazu. Perhaps you could answer my question now. The about your feelings towards money." He said.

Kakazu sighed. "I guess I should go ahead and get it over with. After I left Taki I mostly worked on bounties. However, I eventually had a wife. I was working for a lord of a small country west of Iwa. A deal went sideways when I couldn't deliver my side of the bargain. I was still decent to some degree back then and tried to give the money back. He had agreed, sent men to meet me at my home and pick up the money. When one of the men grabbed the money another said that their lord didn't tolerate failure. They surrounded me and tried to kill me. Long story short; my wife died in the crossfire and I was the only one standing. My home was destroyed, the only one I had left, my wife, dead, and everything around me was dead. All that was left was the money. I learned that money was the only thing that lasts, the only thing you can depend on. Needless to say I slaughtered the lord of the country and everyone in his home. Then I simply left."

Naruto was silent for a while. "And what happens when you eventually do die?"

"Then all my money will be left. Like I said, it's all that lasts."

"And what happens if it were burned? Money won't last through a fire."

"Gold will."

"Gold can be destroyed. I can keep this up all night Kakuzu. Your wife died. I can understand. Pain had to have consumed you that you were all alone like that, but it doesn't mean that what was left was all that was dependable."

Kakuzu looked at him a moment before standing up and walking over to his tent. "I'll leave first watch to you." He said before ducking into his tent.

Naruto sighed before standing up and jumping into a nearby tree.

* * *

 _ **The**_ two were leaping through the trees of Mizu no Kuni, heading towards the location Naruto's spies had given them. It was where they would find Utakata.

Naruto stopped instantly and Kakuzu did the same. Right where Naruto's head would have been had he kept going was a massive, black, three bladed scythe embedded in the tree. The scythe was quickly pulled back into its owners hand via the cable at the end of the long handle.

They looked at two people standing on the ground near them.

One was tall with a muscular build, large eyes, and messy black hair. He wore a large black cloak with a large, red and black collar, red and black petals leafing out from the collar, and metal adornments down the front of the cloak. His fingers were long, as were his sharp fingernails. There were red, vein line markings up his left arm. He also had a black, three bladed scythe in his right hand.

The second man was younger and had an average build, dark orange hair, and black eyes. He wore a white undershirt, a purple dress shirt that he left open, brown shoes, purple pants, and a plain silver bracelet on his right wrist. He had his own black scythe, though it only had two blades, on his back, wielding instead his blood red katana.

"So these are the people Hidan warned me about. Those who wield blades of black and blood red. The elites of his cult." Kakuzu said.

"Who?" Naruto asked.

"Remember the report on Hidan? He was part of a cult that cast him out because he had no restraint, though they allowed him to remain an official member regardless. He was once part of the eight elites before Roku killed him. The rest of the eight were the only people Hidan ever showed any hint of fear towards. Not even Pain was able to get that from him."

"So you know about the one who killed Hidan. Tell us where he is." The bored sounding younger man asked.

"You're talking about Roku. You can't see him." Naruto said.

"Come on! Let's just kill them for our art!" the insane sounding, larger man said.

"I want to as well, but we need them to tell us where this Roku is." The smaller one said.

"Like I said. That is impossible." Naruto said.

"Why is that?"

"Because he's dead." Naruto said.

"That's not possible. We just sensed his chakra." The insane one said.

"How do you know what his chakra feels like?" Naruto asked.

"We've been monitoring him for a while now and even had a run in with him some time ago." The bored one said. "Now we just sensed him. Where is he?"

Naruto knew that they wouldn't believe him if he told them the full truth. "Fine. We just split up with him. He said he needed to head towards the land of fire for something important."

"Thank you. Now, at least one of you are going to need to die or Bluebeard here will never shut up about it. By the way, I don't like killing people without them knowing my name. I am Ryuunosuke. Now which one should we kill?"

"Let's kill the one with the mask!" Bluebeard said.

Kakuzu quickly pulled up his sleeve before several tendrils shot out from one of the stitched areas of the stitched areas of his arm. They quickly impaled Bluebeard in several locations. He looked at them quizzically before using his scythe to slash at them. Kakuzu recalled them before any damage could be done.

"So they are just like Hidan. I suggest we try to finish this quickly Naruto." Kakuzu said.

"Agreed," Naruto said before charging a rasengan in his hand. "Try to tire them out and restrain them. I'll see if I can then use a seal to destroy them."

"Right."

Naruto quickly charged at Ryuunosuke and imbedded his rasengan in the man's chest. It tore away part of the man's shirt and destroyed part of the man's flesh. The man let out a small scream before smirking. Naruto was surprised to see the wound almost instantly seal itself shut. The man quickly made to slash at Naruto with his sword. Naruto was able dodge before drawing his own sword. He quickly rushed in and sever the man's arm. Naruto was able to tell that the pain was real. Naruto watched and saw that his arm didn't regenerate.

"So when a limb is cut off it doesn't regrow, and the wound doesn't simply heal. It's like it's waiting for the limb to be reattached." Naruto said. "Now I suggest you leave. While you still can."

"What are you talking about?"

"Your arm's been cut off."

"Just a scratch."

"No it's not! Your arm is on the ground!"

"Yeah, so what. That just makes things so much more fun!" he said before rushing in and slashing at Naruto in rapid succession. Naruto blocked and dodged before cutting off the man's other arm.

"Now both your arms are gone. Leave now and I'll let you take your arms with you." Naruto said.

"Oohhh, had enough eh?"

"Look you stupid bastard. You've got no arms left."

"Just a flesh wound." The man said before running and kicking at Naruto.

Naruto quickly severed one of the man's legs, leaving him to balance on one.

"I'll gut you for that!"

"What?" Naruto said, nearly laughing at how comical this was becoming. "What are you going to do? Bleed on me?"

"I'm invincible!" the man said before hopping at Naruto, trying to hit him with his head.

"You're a loony." Naruto said before he chuckled. He cut the man's other leg off and left the man lying on his back. It was apparent that the only thing scary about this man was his immortality.

Then Kakuzu landed next to him.

"Naruto, we should leave." Kakuzu said. Naruto noticed three of Kakuzu's masks standing in the trees above them. "The other one managed to get some of my blood and destroy one of my hearts. I managed to sever one of the man's arms and part of his head, but it wasn't enough."

A large fireball then ripped through the trees as Naruto and Kakuzu were forced to dodge.

"I agree. We should leave. I didn't expect this." Naruto said before he grabbed Kakuzu's shoulder. Kakuzu's masks went into his back before they both disappeared in a shunshin.

Bluebeard walked out of the trees, a large portion of his head missing.

"Aaawwwee. You let them get away Ryuunosuke."

"Shut up Bluebeard and get my arms for me. Then go find your arm and the rest of your head. We should go tell Ochiai what happened." Ryuunosuke said as Bluebeard put one of his arms next to where it should go. A moment later it was starting to merge into the socket it had been severed from. "Thanks."

"No problem. But next time, we kill them both. Now we need to make up for lost bodies. I remember a small town on the way here."

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ and Kakuzu had taken longer than expected in recruiting Utakata. It had involved defeating a group of people who were after the kinjutsu on his now-student's back. Once the process was done Utakata had joined them readily on the stipulation that he be allowed to brig Hotaru with him. The four were now walking towards the rendezvous location for the rest of their team. It only took a few minutes for them to meet up with Hinata, Deidara, Sasori, Shino, Yagura, and Fuu.

"You never did tell me why we were bringing so many with us." Sasori said from within his cloaked Hiruko.

"We're going into Iwa. I doubt they will be as hospitable to us as Mizu was. That's why we are all cloaked as well. We want to draw as little attention as possible to us. That especially goes for some missing nin and a man that looks too much like his father for his own good." Naruto said. Looking like his father had some drawbacks.

After a day they had encountered shinobi who had confronted them about their presence, but none who had started any fights. That changed when they approached the two jinchuriki who were sparing when the group had found them. The two also had a three man squad of ANBU watching them. The moment they enter the clearing the jinchuriki turned to look at them and the ANBU were in front of them with weapons drawn.

"Greetings. I have something I want to discuss with the jinchuriki, Han and Roshi. You ANBU might want to stand down and not draw attention to this area." Naruto said.

"And why is that?" one of the ANBU asked.

Naruto decided that it was time. He pulled back his hood.

One of them gasped, one of them backed up a step, and the third fell backwards and started trying to crawl away.

The rest of the team followed suit.

"You are dealing with four jinchuriki, a Kage, and some of the most dangerous shinobi currently alive. Now I'm going to ask you not to panic. Restrain them." Naruto said. Sasori instantly had a puppet hold one of them while Kakuzu used his Earth Grudge Fear to restrain the other two. Sasori used a small burst of gas to knock them out.

Han and Roshi were on guard and about to attack when Naruto held up both of his hands in defense.

"They were all about to run and report us as intruders. I would prefer not to fight my way out of your country. Like I said before, I want to talk to you two. Besides, their only knocked out. Now, I will introduce myself. I am Naruto Uzumaki, jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. I have an offer for you two."

Han relaxed, if only slightly. "What offer would that be?"

"I want you to come with me back to my home. I already have five of the nine on my side if you count me. One of them, as you know is the Kazekage. Utakata here is six, Fuu is seven, and Yagura is three."

"Why are you gathering the rest of them?" Roshi asked, still on guard.

"Because they aren't exactly treated like royalty. I do want them to fight by me later on, but I would also like to show them my own home."

"And what home is that?" Han asked.

"Uzushiogakure."

"That's not possible." Han said.

"Yes it is. Surely you've read the reports about that massive mobile fortress destroying a base that belonged to Orochimaru. Where do you think that came from? You know for a fact that Iwa doesn't have resources like that. Konoha is trying to figure out why some of their largest allies have left them."

"And what if we were to join you?"

"Then you would accompany me to Kumo where I will try to recruit the two jinchuriki living there. Regardless of whether or not you two or they decide to join me I will then return to Uzu to prepare some things. After that I simply hope you don't get caught in the crossfire."

"Crossfire of what?" Roshi asked.

"The fastest war you've ever seen." Deidara, who was now leaning against a tree, said.

"What are you talking about?" Roshi asked.

"He's talking about the fact that Konoha won't be standing for long." Naruto said. "But, I can't just tell you everything. Come with me and I'll tell you, stay and I leave. It's that simple. When the dust settles, no matter what side you stood on, I will do everything in my power to make sure that you're allowed to live a normal life if that is what you so desire. As a matter of fact, I will do so right now if you want. Of course, that is only if you don't make me kill you. You both possess immense power. I will try not to, but if you force my hand I can make no guarantees that you won't die."

After a few moments Han stepped forward. "I'll go with you."

"What?" Roshi asked.

"He's promising us what we have both always wanted. The opportunity at a normal life. Who better to hear such an offer from than another jinchuriki? I'll accept such an offer."

Roshi sighed. "Well I can't choose that. As much as these people despise us, some of them respect and care for us. This is my home. I have fought to protect it for far too long."

"Alright," Naruto said. "It is time for us to go. Han, you might want to put this on." He said, tossing the man a large black cloak. A moment later they were about leave when Roshi called after them.

"I'll try to buy you time for now Han. But I will need to tell them the truth soon. Not to mention that these ANBU will be waking up soon. Get as far as you can."

Han nodded and went back over to shake Roshi's hand. "Hopefully we will meet again.

Roshi nodded.

As the group as leaving Naruto turned around for a brief moment.

"You said you were unwilling to go because this place was your home. I once thought the same before Konoha betrayed me. Be careful." Naruto said before he was gone.

As they were leaving through the trees Naruto got next to Han.

"How are you feeling?" Naruto asked.

"Apart from missions I have never left Iwa. I am...keen on seeing Uzu. I have never actually seen it before. I'm interested." Han said.

"Well, as soon as we're done in Kumo we will be returning there. You don't have long to wait.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ was once again standing on the Fugaku, five of the jinchuriki standing next to him.

Yugito had agreed with some convincing, but Killer B had decided to stay because of his brother. However, due to the guard watching B they had been pursued. They had been forced to reveal that they were mostly jinchuriki to get the pursuers to back off. Naruto knew that it wouldn't matter. They were going to reveal Uzu soon enough. That was the whole point.

The Fugaku started approaching Uzu as Han, Utakata, and Yugito walked to the edge of the deck. They looked out at the island as Naruto took off his cloak and pulled up his shirt. He applied chakra to the seal on his ribs. A moment later a dome over the island gave an audible crack before it shattered. Each piece dissipated quickly.

"The barrier is now down. And it will stay that way. Uzu is now ready to reveal itself. It's time to go into phase four." Naruto said.


	15. Chapter 15

**Two years before.**

_**Naruto**_ was walking through one of the dark halls of Chronicle's northern base outside of Kiri. After things there had been settled, the underground, and temporary, base had been shut down and sealed up, though not destroyed in case it was needed in an emergency.

"Alright. This is where we'll begin." Naruto said to the several dozen clones behind him. He quickly constructed a Rasengan in his hand before driving it into the wall. It quickly dug into the wall before Naruto expanded it and forced it to explode. When the dust settled there was a massive and deep hole in the wall.

"Get to it. We're going to need this done when the project finally bares results. Unlike my father, I will not be limited to a simple kunai marker."

* * *

**Now**

_**Naruto**_ was standing in the middle of his personal library, focusing on gathering nature energy while his clones were running around the room. The clones were constantly disappearing and reappearing in Naruto's improvised version of the Hiraishin. He had been able to use the seal formulas with the shunshin to create a limited version. Because of the seals it still created a flash, but its range was much shorter than either of the original jutsu. However, it made up for that with its increased speed and accuracy.

Naruto released his hold on the natural energy and opened his eyes. One of the clones had overshot and flew through the air. It landed on a spot with a seal on it and flashed away before appearing on the other side of the room and flying through the air again. He impacted the wall and dispelled.

Naruto had a smile on his face a moment later.

"All clones, line up!" he shouted.

A second later the clones were in front of him, each holding a black Hiraishin kunai with a black tag and gold sealing array around the handle.

They disappeared instantly and reappeared around the room in black and white flashes.

Naruto's smile grew. He had work to do "Go. Get to work on spreading them. Use the preservation seals and get started. I'm going to do what my father was too short-sighted to do."

Once the other clones were gone he created a single other one, using every ounce of chakra, natural energy and some of the Kyuubi's included, that he had. He looked at the other version of himself as he had trouble breathing.

"Go... You know...what to do. Don't forget the MRPs. I'll have...the other one sent to join you...the moment I save up enough chakra to create him. Don't worry though. I'll be sending more soon enough... Now go."

A moment later the clone was gone. Naruto put an MRP in his mouth and went to sit down. He needed a rest. He went over some memories of a few dispersed clones. Construction was almost complete.

* * *

 _ **Jiraiya**_ was responding to a report of Naruto being sighted nearby, rushing through the trees in one of the many forested areas of Kaze. He had been in Kaze no Kuni with some of the members of his network when the report came in. The report had also said that he was alone and appeared to be worn out after being chased down by, and barely escaping, a group of Suna-nin.

Jiraiya was nearing the area when he suddenly stopped and dodged a large surge of electricity that tore through the tree he was just standing in. When the smoke settled he looked up and saw Naruto standing there.

"I find it absolutely amazing how much damage the simple bending of information can do. Take your network for example. Make them see one thing while the truth is altogether different and it can do all sorts of damage." Naruto said. "I'm going to offer you a choice Jiraiya." He said, tossing the man a kunai. "Surrender now and it will be over quick. Just slit your throat and I'll take that as a yes. Otherwise, I could destroy you quickly. But it's time to choose."

Jiraiya looked at him like he was insane. He threw the kunai back at Naruto who stepped aside to avoid it easily. Jiraiya launched off of his branch to attack him. Naruto avoided every punch Jiraiya threw before grabbing Jiraiya's fist and flipping him over his shoulder and throwing him into a tree. Jiraiya righted himself and landed upright on the side of the tree.

Jiraiya made hand seals before firing a large fireball at Naruto. Naruto flew threw his own hand signs. He opened his mouth and released a torrent of water. Steam filled the clearing. A moment later Naruto shot through the steam with his sword already drawn.

Jiraiya pulled out a kunai to block the blade and parry it. Naruto slashed once more and Jiraiya parried it before using the opening to flip backward to put room between them and get to the ground. He created two Kage Bunshin and had them charge Naruto the moment he dropped down to the ground. With Naruto busy, Jiraiya sat down and started focusing on gathering natural energy.

Naruto saw what Jiraiya was doing and started focusing himself, having some difficulty fighting the clones and focusing on gathering the energy. After a few moments, Naruto destroyed the clones and saw Jiraiya standing up. He noted that Jiraiya was in his sage mode. Jiraiya rushed forward and used Naruto's partial focus on the fight to deliver a kick to his chest and send him into a tree.

"I expected some more from my old student Naruto, but this is where it ends," Jiraiya said while preparing a Rasengan. Jiraiya went to bury the ball of chakra into Naruto before Naruto reached up and caught his wrist.

"So you were worried about this fight being boring?" Naruto said, his eyes becoming gold with silted pupils. "I'll spice it up for you then." He said before sending Jiraiya flying backward through several trees. When he finally righted himself he was able to quickly jump back to where he stood in front of Naruto.

"Let me tell you what I think would be really boring," Naruto said, scales growing up his arms and on his face. His face began to become more scaled and animalistic. "If you weren't in your sage mode." He said as the back of his shirt started to bulge as scaled protrusions tore through his shirt to reveal large, scaled wings. A large, spiked tail grew from the base of his spine. "So do me a favor and stay just the way you are."

Naruto shot forward and slashed at Jiraiya with his clawed hands. The moment the man jumped backward to avoid the claws, Naruto's tail moved forward and gripped the man's neck. Jiraiya was surprised as he was thrown of Naruto's shoulder and slammed into the ground. Naruto released his grip and turned around to look down at him.

"I expected more from my old teacher Jiraiya," Naruto said, preparing a Rasengan in his hand. His features started returning to normal. "I need to open you up anyways, might as well start now."

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ was walking down one of the streets of Konoha, taking in the calm and quiet night. He wore a large black trench coat that hung down just above his ankles. Under the trench coat, he wore a set of black pants and a shirt. His head was covered with a black cloth to keep his hair covered. His face was also covered by a black, featureless mask.

As he walked he thought about how foolish the people of Konoha were. In this village, you could find information on just about anyone by asking a passerby. Tsunade had been training her apprentice, Sakura, for the past few years. He was even able to get so much detail as to the fact that Sakura had learned Tsunade's enhanced strength. Tsunade had also started training Choji. The man had wanted to train in her techniques to compliment his multi-size technique.

Sasuke had been training under Jiraiya, yet had been using his own summoning contract. He had even started working on the sage arts. Sasuke had also developed his Mangekyo Sharingan shortly after he found out about his execution. Not only had he developed the ability to use the eternal flames of Amaterasu, but he had also developed the ability for the Susanoo.

There were two people who seemed interesting among the others. Ino had been one of the few people to come over to Sasuke's way of thinking about him. She had eventually come to genuinely feel remorse for the betrayal. Then there was Lee. He had also stopped trying to decide what to believe and had come over to Sasuke's way of thinking, though he did differ in one specific way. Unlike Sasuke, who wanted to bring him back, he had talked to some about how he would not be against him coming back to get his revenge against this 'un-youthful' village. It interested him. It also interested him how others had been brought to similar points of view, though they were exceedingly few.

Other members of the village had gotten stronger, advanced, and learned and created new techniques. These people were unimportant to him, however, as he had only a few he was actually focused on.

He walked by and could see a few things in the dark. He could see a thief down one alleyway, a murderer running down another, prostitutes in a few places. He knew that some of the thieves and murderers and such didn't choose such lives. He felt pity for those who had little other choice. Then there were all of the people who ran this place. The Hokage, the council, and all the pathetic fools behind the scenes. The corrupt, the untrustworthy, and... the traitors. This place disgusted him. He knew that other villages had problems, that they had similar rats and dark people. However, Konoha was slowly rotting in its corruption. It tried to be perfect, but could not be nearly as well as other villages. Konoha was claimed as the greatest village. Such statements made him chuckle.

Then he took a moment to marvel. Crimes and such were not just committed by rogue shinobi. They were committed by normal people as well. He chuckled at how few people seemed to take note of that, always caring about shinobi.

Then he thought about the very people of Konoha. _'This village is afraid of me. I have seen its true face. The streets are extended gutters and the gutters are full of blood, and when the drains finally scab over, all the vermin will drown. The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder and betrayal and corruption will foam up about their waists and all the traitors and rats and whores and politicians will look up and shout "Spare us!"...and I'll whisper "no."'_

He finally stood in front of his destination. It was a small storage facility close to the center of the village and along a specific route. No one knew it, but he had bought the building under a henge and a different name.

Sakura would often use this route when running any errands for Tsunade. And then he saw her. She was a distance away but walking in his direction all the same. What better way to undermine the Hokage than to kill their apprentice. He knew that some people in the village would use anything to undermine her authority. Once this was done some of his work would be done for him by others. Plus, it made things so much sweeter to do it this way.

When she got closer he activated some of the seals on his arms and completely disappeared as he backed into the shadows. After she passed his location he wasted no time in knocking her unconscious and dragging her into the small building.

Naruto brought her into the building and tied her arms up behind her before leaning her against a wall and putting a chakra suppressor on her before stepping back. He stood there and waited for her to wake up.

* * *

 _ **Once**_ she had regained consciousness she looked up at him and started struggling. He knelt down next to her before speaking.

"Hello, Sakura. After all this time, you really have changed. Not who you really are of course, but how you look. Not to mention you have gotten stronger. Not enough to bother me any, but stronger none the less." He sighed.

"Who are you?"

He chuckled. "I once promised you that I would make sure you paid your debt in full. Now I'm here to collect." He said, enjoying the realization on her face. "I also promised your teacher that I would force you and Ino to endure horrendous torture like I would everyone else. But things changed. Ino has changed her attitude, so the thought of hurting her has lost its appeal somewhat. Then there's you. The thought of using my previously stated punishment for you has also lost all appeal. Would you like to know why Sakura?"

He quickly grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled upward. He used his other hand to remove his mask.

"Naruto. Please, stop." Sakura begged, trying to struggle free.

"Here is why, Sakura. It's because I wouldn't be there to watch the hope and light and life leave your eyes in that one instant when you finally realize just how hopeless your situation is. I want to see it all leave your eyes at that moment right before you die. But first, I want you to feel what I have felt." Naruto said as he placed a seal on her forehead.

Everything went white for her before she saw figures starting to emerge and become more defined. She thought she recognized some of them. Hen memories flashed in front of her. Memories of those she loved, those she cared for, and those she trusted. The memories flashed by quickly before stopping. The figures could now be seen as her parents, Sasuke, Tsunade, and the rest of her class. They waved at her, asking her to come closer. She did, coming to enter her parent's embrace. Then another figure emerged. It was a young Naruto. He was smiling his goofy smile before his face cracked to reveal a more serious one, though this one still had a small smile on its face. She saw daggers in each person's hand. They stepped forward and stabbed their blades into her. She looked into their eyes, seeing hatred and loathing. She looked at Naruto, seeing his face crack again before the entire world she was seeing cracked and crumbled away. She could see the real Naruto sitting there. She could feel the pain of the daggers, the tears on her face, and the pain within her own mind at what had just happened.

"Now do you understand Sakura? The pain of seeing your whole world crack and fall apart so that the dark reality of things comes into view? In the world that you just saw there was so much light and so little dark. But now, the reality is the exact opposite. Now, I'm about to break nearly every bone in your body, and you're going to feel more pain than you could ever imagine. Alright? And you're probably wondering why I'm telling you that. The reason is because of what you're doing now. Preparing your torture resistance training. That is what I want. I want you to see just worthless all of that training was." He said before standing up and walking to a crate that had a few objects on top of it, though she couldn't see what they were.

He picked something up before walking back over to her. She could see that he was holding a crowbar. He knelt down and reached behind her to grab the rope she was bound with. He picked her up by it and tossed her into the middle of the floor.

Before she could react the crowbar came down. She could hear some bones snap.

"Wow. That looked like it really hurt." Naruto said before hitting her again. "Whoa, now, hang on. That looked like it hurt a lot more. So, let's try and clear this up, okay? What hurts more? A?" he hit her again. "Or B?" Again. "Forehand?" Again. "Or backhand?" Again. Then Sakura mumbled something. Naruto leaned in, imitating the noise. "A little louder. I think you may have a collapsed lung. That always impedes the oratory." He said before she spat blood and saliva in his face. Naruto grabbed her hair and slammed her face into the floor. "Now, that was rude! At least your teacher has some manners. I suppose I'm going to have to teach you a lesson so you can better follow in her footsteps." There was a pause. "Nah. I'm just going to keep beating you with this crowbar." He said before he hit her again. It went on for a few moments before he stopped and pulled her up by her hair so that he could speak in her ear.

"Tell me, are you familiar with the lingering death?" he said, seeing her tense as his confirmation that she was. "Why don't we try that one next? But, I want you to do something for me. I don't want you losing your mind while we're doing this. So you're going to count backward from one-thousand by sevens."

Naruto then let go of her hair and went over to the crate. When he came back there was a small blade in his hand. He knelt next to her again before placing the blade on her forearm just below the elbow.

"Now, the lingering death, as you know, is where I slowly slice off your flesh, carefully so that you don't die instantly, or pass out." He said before quickly swiping the blade to take a sliver out of her arm.

Her scream echoed through the warehouse.

"Now count." There was silence. Naruto moved lower and jammed the blade into her leg, twisting it when it hit bone. Her screams echoed again. "I said, count!"

She hesitated. Naruto jammed the blade in again.

"AAAHHHHH! ... Nine-hundred...ninety-three."

Naruto turned her over so that he could see the tears flowing from her eyes.

"Very good. Now keep going." Naruto said as he quickly healed the injuries he had put into her legs. When she said nothing he jammed the blade in again and started to heal it right away.

"Nine-hundred...eighty-six.

"See Sakura? It's not that bad. Come on, we are only just getting started." He said, going back up to her arms and taking another sliver out of her other arm. This time she was able to bite her lip to keep from screaming. Blood poured out of the wounds she had created with her own teeth.

"Your will has gotten stronger as well Sakura," Naruto said. "You know, I've been thinking that I could use this same torture routine on Tsunade." He said, enjoying the fear and hatred in her eyes. "I'm going to tell you something I probably shouldn't. This isn't personal." He paused. "Well, not completely. I want this entire village to lose hope. This is both because of you, and because of your Hokage. This is to destroy your hope, and eventually your teacher's."

He then pulled out a pair of pliers and gripped one of Sakura's fingernails. "Don't cry Sakura. We're only just getting started after all."

* * *

 _ **"Lady**_ Hokage, you have a letter. They told me it was important."

Tsunade took the letter from her secretary before opening and reading it. She was then out of the window. The secretary looked at the letter before clasping a hand over her mouth.

' _Greetings Lady Tsunade,_

_I currently have Sakura at the below address. She has endured the Lingering Death longer than I expected. Let's see how long she lasts.'_

_-Naruto Namikaze Uzumaki_

* * *

_**"Good**_ news," Naruto said. "Tsunade has been alerted to your location. She's on her way here."

Sakura smiled as best she could. "When she gets here...she's going to kill you, and I'm...going to watch."

Naruto saw the hope swell in her eyes. He took his dagger and stabbed it into her kneecap, listening to her screams.

"You still think this is personal, don't you? Like I said before, this is to destroy your hope. I learned long ago that true despair does not exist without hope. It's why I'm here. It's why Konoha is still standing. I want them to suffer, as I did. I want them to believe, right up until the end, that surviving, stopping me, and standing on top at the end of this are all within their reach. Then, I want to show them the truth. I will destroy their hope and watch their worlds fall apart right before their eyes. Only then will they understand the true depths of misery. Only then will I end their lives. They not only have a right to know, but they also have an obligation to." He paused. "Do you think I'm Insane? Perhaps a small amount, but not enough to cause alarm for the time being. Oh, and how far did you get?"

"F-f-five...hundred...fifty...nine. Five-hundred...fifty-two." She said, falling silent, unable to keep going. She needed a moment. It didn't surprise Naruto. She was only still alive because he had used what little medical jutsu he knew to keep her alive.

Naruto stood up and walked to the door, leaving the blade in her leg.

"Okay, I got to go. It's been fun, though, right?" Naruto asked. There was only silence as he looked back at the mostly skinned young woman who was missing some of her fingers while some of them were simply missing their nails. He could see some of the broken bones without any flesh on them while others could be noticed due to the bent forearms and such. There were also some parts that Naruto had cauterized with a torch.

"Well, maybe a smidge more fun for me than you. I'm just guessing since you're being awfully quiet. Anyway, be a good girl, finish work, and be in bed by nine. And, hey, please tell Tsunade I said...'hello'." Naruto said before laughing hysterically. "Oh, and don't forget to keep counting."

Then he was gone.

"Five-hundred forty-five." She said, stopping to inhale shakily. "Five-hundred...thirty-eight." Sakura stopped and tried to look around her and noticed two things. The first was the walls being covered in explosive tags, and the second was the Naruto clone watching her. it didn't move. it just stood there.

She tried to move, but her entire body felt burned, though some of it was not far off. Then she heard the door bust open. She forced her body to move and look into the eyes of Tsunade. She could see the pain at her condition, yet the joy that she was still alive. Then Sakura saw the tags ignite. She finally realized just how hopeless it was. She looked the Naruto clone in the eyes. She could see the joy in his eyes as the light and hope faded from hers. She understood now. She could feel the hope that had risen in her when she knew that Tsunade was coming, and grew even further when her teacher had opened the door, shatter. Where hope once filled her, there was an empty feeling of nothingness and despair. She embraced her death now knowing that no force on earth could stop it.

Tsunade saw the hope flee her apprentice's eyes before she noticed the explosive tags. She couldn't stop it as the tags went off and launched her back.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ continued walking, his mask back on.

" _After all that, you do realize that you're standing at a great precipice. Don't you?"_ The voice said in his mind.

' _Of course I do. But it had to be done.'_ Naruto responded.

" _Oh, no doubt about that, but if I were you I would expect breaking to be a much more probable outcome."_

' _Shut up already. I get it. Just don't interfere. We'll see what happens.'_

" _Don't you see? You're nothing but a monster now. You're just like me!"_

' _SILENCE!'_

And so silence followed.

He finally came to another building before jumping up over a wall and then through a window. He removed his mask as he looked at Lee.

Lee had been suddenly woken when the figure jumped through his window, but when they removed the mask he was able to recognize them quickly. He was now standing in front of the intruder.

"Naruto?" he asked in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"That depends on you."

"What do you mean?"

"I have an offer for you. I want you to join me. I want you to follow the orders I'm about to give you. Join my new home, and help me destroy Konoha."

"What do you want me to do?"

Naruto took a few minutes and told him. He nodded.

Then there was an explosion in the distance.

"I have to go now. Remember what I told you." Naruto said before he was gone.

* * *

 _ **Sasuke**_ was leaping over the rooftops towards the explosion. When he finally landed there he saw Tsunade holding what was left of Sakura's body. While it was slightly burnt, Sakura's face seemed to be the only thing that wasn't destroyed. Whoever did this wanted her to be recognized.

"Tsunade, what happened?" Sasuke asked, also taking note that Tenten, Neji, Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, and Lee standing there. He also noticed several Jounin and ANBU there as well.

"Naruto happened," Tsunade said.

"That he did." A new voice said. They turned to see Naruto. Naruto had hidden his mask is a scroll at his hip. "I'm back." He said, spreading his arms outward.

He quickly dodged an attack from Choji who had practically destroyed the area Naruto was just at.

"I told you all, you have a debt to pay. I'm here to collect." Naruto said. "Oh, and you want to know the best part? The seals that covered the building were coded to Tsunade. Had anyone else opened that door before you, Tsunade, the explosive tags would never have gone off. Isn't that irony right there?"

Sasuke looked at Sakura's body and then at Naruto. An ethereal rib cage formed around him with a single skeletal arm. Sasuke lunged at Naruto with it. Naruto dodged only for the arm to reach around and grab at him. Before it could make contact, a dark red shroud formed around him before condensing as Naruto went to the first stage of his level two state, four tails sprouting. Two of the tails held back the arm.

" **Interesting, right Sasuke? The Susanoo was created by the first Uchiha to counter the power of the Biju, especially the Kyuubi that his brother, the first Senju, was the jinchuriki of. And now, centuries later, the two opposing forces stand against each other again. HAHAHA! Now let's see how much destruction the two of us can cause. Come on!** " Naruto shouted in a slightly distorted voice.

"Naruto, is that what you think this is?! Some sort of game?!"

" **Of course not, but that doesn't mean I'm not interested.** "

Sasuke screamed before a second arm formed and some of the flesh like tendrils formed around the rib cage and joints. Naruto jumped away as the second arm came down to crush him. His tails extended to grab both arms. He launched himself at Sasuke as a purplish Rasengan formed in his hand, his tails extending to allow more movement. As it was about to hit the Susanoo, more of the tendrils wrapped around it to send it to a state where the full-bodied mode was starting to form.

Naruto struck one of the covered areas, though it still cracked. Sasuke forced both of the arms to throw Naruto into a building. He quickly reemerged before the fifth tail formed along with small, red, bone-like protrusions grew along his arms and spine.

Naruto rushed forward, four of his tails going ahead of him and pulling back the arms of Sasuke's Susanoo. He was instantly in front of Sasuke had his claws dug into the ethereal coating and started peeling it back. Once a large enough hole was created, the struggling Uchiha was forced to jump out of the back of the construct to escape the fifth tail that shot forward and dug into to spot he had just been. Naruto started expanding his fifth tail and pulling apart with the others. The Susanoo was ripped apart before dissipating, only to reform around Sasuke seconds later.

" **Come on Sasuke. Let's put down the toys and go into the big leagues.** " Naruto said before the red shroud disappeared. His eyes then had an orange shading appear around his eyes while his pupils formed into those of a toad.

"You want to fight with the sage modes Naruto? Fine. I didn't like using the same contract as Itachi, but they were the clan that reverse summoned me." Sasuke said. The Susanoo disappeared as Sasuke's hands turned into talons with black feathers. Some of the feathers formed around his face before his shirt was ripped open to allow two crow-like wings to free themselves.

"The crows Sasuke? A good clan, but mine is stronger." Naruto said before his eyes returned to normal as he backed out of the toad sage mode and started changing the flow of the natural energy. Within seconds large, dark grey scales started forming all over his body. His hands turned into vicious claws. His eyes became gold with black slits as his jaw elongated to give him what could resemble a very short, slightly reptilian snout. He quickly removed his shirt so that the two dragon-like wings on his back wouldn't rip his clothes. Four scaled horns, connected by ridges grew on his head, two on each side. A large, spiked tail grew from the base of his spine.

"My second sage mode has not yet been perfected, but neither has your first. I will admit that yours is under more control than mine, but you have no idea how difficult it is to control a second sage mode from a completely different clan than the one you first learn with."

"How? Where did you learn from a second clan, and how did you learn from the toads in the first place?" Sasuke asked.

"Both are secrets for the time being. All in due time Sasuke!" Naruto yelled before charging. Just before Naruto hit him Sasuke jumped into the air to avoid the hit. Naruto used the wings on his back to go after him. Sasuke quickly used his own wings to continue ascending in order to try and escape. However, Naruto was faster and quickly caught up to him. A moment later Naruto had Sasuke by the throat and was forcing them both down. Naruto used his rougher wings to attack Sasuke's own. Just as they were about to hit the ground Sasuke managed to disengage himself and break away. As he was able to lift himself back up, Naruto opened his own wings and stopped himself just short of the ground. He quickly used his wings to launch at Sasuke again.

Naruto slashed at Sasuke with his claws. Sasuke grabbed Naruto's wrist and flipped him over his shoulder. Naruto used his wings to stop his downward motion and twist from Sasuke's grip. Naruto turned over and punched Sasuke in his stomach. Sasuke flinched slightly but quickly retreated. Sasuke grabbed his wrist and powered up a larger than normal Raikiri.

Naruto held up his hand as a Rasengan built up in his hand before altering itself to form a small shuriken around it.

"We've both powered up these two techniques against one another again. Remember how much destruction we caused last time? Now they're even stronger than before! Are you sure you want to use that, Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke thought a moment and looked around. There were still civilians running from the damage they were causing. Sasuke looked down as the Raikiri faded.

Naruto smirked as he allowed his Rasengan to fade away. Naruto then allowed a red shroud to flow over him before launching at Sasuke. He once again grabbed Sasuke as they ascended and shot higher and higher into the air.

"Sasuke. You need to join me. I'm about to start a war you don't want to be against me in! Don't make this any harder!" Naruto shouted over the wind rushing past them.

"Stop this Naruto! You need to stop this!" Sasuke responded.

Naruto instantly went into his four-tailed state. The state was now altered due to his sage mode. It had deformed wings, and his facial features and horns started becoming more like fox features than those of a dragon.

" **You think so Sasuke?! You are so self-righteous! Do you think you're alive because you can fight?! You are only alive because of what I did to save you! The same goes for this entire village.** "

He used his tails to hold Sasuke's wings in while using his own to force them towards the ground. They were now over the forest just outside of the walls.

" **Haku would have killed you if I hadn't made a deal with him! Orochimaru would have made you a puppet if I hadn't stopped you from leaving! You would still have that curse mark if hadn't destroyed it! This village would have been destroyed if I hadn't stopped Gaara! You are all still alive because of me! I understand that you're intentions are good! I know you mean well! The problem is that you want to protect this world, but you don't want it to change! There's only one true path to peace! And that is to change this world at its very core!"** Naruto shouted as the ground came up to them.

Right before they hit the forest Naruto broke away and sent Sasuke hurtling toward the ground.

Sasuke tried to stop himself but his wings couldn't open fast enough. The impact was lessened by some of the trees he landed hit on the way down.

Naruto landed next to him before he was forced back by Sasuke's Susanoo. Sasuke forced himself up as his Susanoo went into the full-bodied form before a large cloak came over it to form into its four-armed, armored form. Naruto noticed the black ball of fire in one of its hands. He also noticed that it seemed to be slightly enhanced by the sage mode Sasuke was still using.

Naruto's tails went forward and each wrapped around an arm. The arms gave a small tug, instantly ripping free.

"Naruto, stop this! We don't need to keep fighting!" Sasuke shouted, blocking when the four tails twisted together and tried to impact into the Susanoo's chest.

Naruto forced himself backward with his wings as one of the fists came down where he once was and was instantly hidden behind some of the trees. When he reappeared Sasuke had him with one of his Susanoo's hands. Instantly Naruto's form returned to normal.

"You got me Sasuke. Now what?" Naruto asked.

"Now I take you in Naruto. Now, this ends." Sasuke said before his Susanoo want to its lowest form of a rib cage and one arm to carry Naruto.

' _You think so Sasuke?'_ Naruto thought to himself.

Sasuke eventually was able to limp back to Konoha and found them all waiting for him. Choji looked at Naruto and stepped forward. Tsunade held out an arm to stop him.

"Why are you stopping me Tsunade?! He should die for what he's done!" Choji yelled at her.

"I know! But Sasuke here has other plans for him. Don't you Sasuke?" she replied, anger soaking her voice.

* * *

 _ **"So**_ tell me, Naruto, when and how you learned the sage mode for the toads. I could ask the same about the dragons, or how you have been learning the control the Kyuubi's chakra." Tsunade said.

They were currently in an interrogation room, sitting across from one another at a metal table. It was now early in the morning. They had decided to wait to question him until they had gotten some rest.

"I will only answer one question at a time Tsunade. Pick one and try again." Naruto said.

"Fine." she said, trying to remain calm. "How have you learned to control the Kyuubi?"

"Actually, I haven't. Not entirely at least. I only recently was able to unlock the fourth and fifth tails of the version two state. Kurama might not realize it, but he has become a lot more cooperative over the years."

"Who?"

"Ah, yes. That's right. You don't know. The Kyuubi's real name is Kurama."

"They don't have names Naruto. They're only monsters. Like you."

Naruto sighed. "I will no longer answer any questions from you anymore."

"That's fine Naruto. There is someone else who wants to talk with you." Tsunade said before standing up and leaving the room.

A moment later Sasuke walked into the room.

"Hello, Naruto. Are you ready to talk rather than fight?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto leaned forward. "Let's not forget that you attacked me."

"Only after you skinned Sakura alive!"

"But I didn't attack you. And, I didn't skin her. I cut the flesh from her bones." Naruto said.

"SHUT UP!" Sasuke screamed. There was a long pause before he sighed. "Naruto, where have you been all this time?"

"I won't answer any more questions while we have prying eyes." Naruto said, looking at the mirror on the wall and at the corners. Naruto could see Sasuke give a signal before there was the sound of doors opening and closing and some shinobi materialized and left the room. Then Naruto looked at another corner.

"You can gather all of this information when Sasuke reports to Tsunade. Now leave and tell Danzo that his ROOT lapdogs are getting sloppy." Naruto said with a grin before another shinobi appeared from a genjutsu he was hidden behind and shunshined away.

"I don't even want to know what that was about." Sasuke said. "Now answer my question."

"No."

Sasuke exploded. "Then why did you have me send them away?!" Naruto stayed silent. Sasuke stood up and slammed his hand on the table. "ANSWER ME!"

Silence.

"Whatever it is you believe you're doing, I'm telling you that it's wrong!" Sasuke said.

"Is that true?" Naruto said, looking up at him with an amused look.

"It is true! You're trying to play with people's lives! Look where it's gotten you!"

"Let me ask you this; where does this knowledge of yours come from? This ability to know right from wrong?" Naruto said, watching as his friend flinched at the question. "There is no inherent good or evil in the world. Those labels are just artificial constructs. Right and wrong are determined by the people who hold positions of authority. That's the way it's always been, so how then can anyone know this truth you speak of? Don't you see? The reality is that the truth long ago became nothing more than a shadow of itself. It's a mere echo of the past now."

"You're wrong!"

"The world is one big moral 'grey area'. It just makes you feel safer to believe that it can be carefully categorized into good and bad. That's not the way it actually works."

"You're wrong!"

"Why are you so persistent about this Sasuke?"

"Why are you still refusing to answer any of my questions?! What are you so persistent to keep hidden?!" Sasuke said.

Naruto didn't respond. Sasuke turned around and walked to the door. As he was about to open it, Naruto's voice changed.

"Foolish little brother."

Sasuke stopped. He turned around and looked at his brother sitting in the chair.

"How?"

"Naruto provided me with a seal that kept your suppression seals from affecting me. When Naruto ducked behind the trees he switched with me. When I came out from behind the trees I was already under a transformation jutsu so that I could get here." Itachi said. "Now sit down Sasuke. I need to tell you why I killed our clan."

* * *

 _ **Hinata**_ and Shino walked down the streets of Konoha. They had black cloaks to cover any discernable features. They came to a point where they split up and continued walking. Neither said a word.

Hinata kept walking until she came to a wall of her clan compound. She was over it in a moment. She was quick to rush through the compound until she found her father. He was shocked to see a cloaked figure running at him. He quickly raised his arms to block a kick to his head.

Hinata jumped back before activating her byakugan and rushing forward again and trying to jab at one of Hiashi's chakra points in his shoulder. He activated his byakugan and quickly dodged it. He was able to see that his opponent was a woman; and that she had the byakugan.

Hinata went after another set of points, using chakra to increase her speed. She continued to miss before leaping back to compose herself. She took a stance that Hiashi knew all too well.

"You are within my range," Hinata said before launching forward.

She noticed that only a portion of her attacks were actually landing. When the sixty-four palms were done, only twelve of them landed. She had grown much better with the technique, but Hiashi had trained in it all his life. However, Hiashi had still lost the use of his left arm, and his left leg had slowed down slightly.

Hinata composed herself again before readying her fists. A moment later, two lion-like shrouds formed around them. She charged forward at such a rate that Hiashi had no chance to dodge. The attack landed right in the middle of his stomach. He was launched back into a wall. Several other Hyuga surrounded her. Hinata noted that Hanabi was among them.

Before they could move she removed the cloak to reveal her face.

"I am Hinata Hyuga, and I'm here to assume the position as head of this clan. Where is Neji?"

"I'm here," Neji said as he walked out of the crowd. He didn't bow or kneel.

"Phase four has started. Get everyone else ready."

* * *

 _ **Shino**_ walked through his clan compound, his insects communicating with those of his clan that he was an ally. He found his own parents within seconds. As soon as he found them he removed his cloak and looked at them.

"Shino?" Shibi asked.

"Yes. As much as I would like to catch up, I need to tell you something important. I'm here to take leadership of the clan."

There was silence. "Then...Then it will be yours." Shibi said. "We will have a gathering of the clan to commemorate your return."

Shino gave a small bow to his father. "We have much to discuss."

* * *

 _ **"No!**_ That can't be true!" Sasuke shouted.

"It is Sasuke. Now you need to accept it." Itachi said.

"No! If it was true that you should have trusted me! You should have told me the truth so that you could stay in the leaf and protect it! And if you went through so much to protect Konoha then why have you turned against it?!"

"Because it has become a husk of what it once was. It has become corrupt. I'm going to help Naruto rebuild it once it's been wiped clean."

"So that's the plan?! Destroy Konoha and rebuild it as you see fit?!"

"No. As it deserves to be, regardless of who's overseeing it. However, the fact that you think this is still just about Konoha shows just how short-sighted you have become."

"So then what is it about, Itachi?"

Itachi looked up at him. "It's about everything."

Sasuke had had enough and stood up before leaving. Most of him refused to believe that Naruto and Itachi were right. He refused to let his reality be shattered.

When he left the room he realized that everyone was gone. He shunshined to the Hokage tower before walking towards Tsunade's office. With Sasuke gone Naruto materialized. "Things are moving along. Let's go." Naruto said before he and Itachi disappeared.

When Sasuke got to Tsunade's office, he found Chaos. Tsunade was walking out of her office while people inside were shouting orders.

"Tsunade." He said, trying to get her attention.

She held up her hand to stop him from speaking. "Not now Sasuke. Whatever it is can wait until after we settle current problems."

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked.

"Hinata and Shino just walked into Konoha and seized control of their clans. We haven't received any more information than that right now. That's why I'm going down to the Hyuga clan compound now." Tsunade said, walking out of the Hokage tower with Sasuke behind her.

"Tsunade, what I have to tell you is important." Sasuke insisted.

"What is it?" she said, stopping to face him.

"Naruto was the one I was fighting, but Itachi was under a henge. That's who we were questioning."

"How is that possible? With the suppression-"

"Naruto gave him a seal that could somehow negate them. And it gets worse. Itachi killed our clan because they were planning a coup. He was under orders from the Sandaime and the elders to eliminate them after he revealed the plan to them. He refused to kill me and became a missing-nin to protect that secret. And now he's with Naruto. This was the plan from the very beginning. All of this is happening too quickly for it to be a coincidence. This is part of a plan that Naruto is no doubt behind. we need to get answers as quickly as possible."

"Shit." Was all she said, refusing to even try to describe it more. "Let's settle this with Hinata and Shino first. Then we can settle things with Itachi."

Moments later they were standing at the gate of the Hyuga compound that was now surrounded by ANBU. Tsunade moved closer and tried to open the door on the gate that was meant for letting people in without opening the entire gate. When she went to open it the door opened and a Hyuga clan member was standing there. They could tell by their uncovered forehead that they were a main family member.

"Lady Hinata has instructed that Tsunade Senju and Sasuke Uchiha are to be brought into the compound and no one else." The Hyuga said.

Tsunade nodded. "Everyone else, stay back. We'll go in alone. If we aren't out in an hour you have orders to destroy the compound and anyone who resists."

They quickly entered the door before it was closed. They were then lead to a room where Hinata was sitting down on the floor, her father and sister next to her. She was now wearing a white kimono. They then noticed that Shino, his parents, and two Aburame clan members were there as well.

"Sit Tsunade. We some things to discuss. Shino, why don't you sit down and join us as well?"

Tsunade and Sasuke both sat down as the Aburame members moved closer and did the same.

"So where have you two been?" Sasuke asked. "We assumed you had been kidnapped by some other village in the chaos when Naruto escaped. We assumed you were both dead already."

"We figured you would have." Shino said. "The truth is that we left of our own volition. Now we needed you in here for one specific reason."

"What would that be?" Tsunade asked.

"We need you to discharge all of our clan members, from both clans, from your shinobi roster. We don't want them declared as missing-nin when we leave." Shino said.

"ARE YOU INSANE?!" Tsunade yelled, standing up. She was forced back down to her knees by two Hyuga clan members.

"We aren't asking permission!" Hinata said before things could get out of hand. "We are taking our clans with us whether you like it or not. We simply want to make things easier. And don't think you can threaten us. You would lose more than you would gain if you were to try and stop us. That especially counts considering that you wouldn't gain anything."

They were silent. "Alright." Tsunade said, sounding defeated.

There was a pause.

"Where have you been all this time Hinata? I'd guess that's where you're going to be taking them." Sasuke asked.

Hinata nodded. "Uzushiogakure is my new home."

Shino nodded in response.

"What did you just say? That's not possible." Tsunade said.

"And neither is a mobile fortress that takes an offensive against Orochimaru." Shino said.

Sasuke had a shocked look on his face. "That means you've been with Naruto this whole time. I was right. He's behind all of this. But what about the Akatsuki cloak he was wearing?"

"It wasn't an Akatsuki cloak. It was one that showed his position as the Uzukage. You only saw part of it. The other part had the words Shodaime Uzukage on it."

"Uzu doesn't have a Kage, even back in its prime." Tsunade said.

"Uzu has grown far more powerful than it was before." Shino said. "With Naruto as the leader, we have had several advancements. Uzu is now more worthy of a Kage than any of the five great villages are right now."

"So then what? What happens next?" Tsunade asked.

"We are taking our clans to Uzu." Hinata said. "Anywho want to stay have been given the offer, however, none have accepted the offer. The Hyuga have refused because clan pride refuses to let them leave the clan, though most did choose to go with the clan of their own free will. And none of the Aburame disagrees with our plans."

"I can't let you go. I can't let you go to wherever Naruto is. He's our enemy right now." Tsunade said.

"We have to Tsunade," Sasuke said. "My objective was originally to bring Naruto back, but I can see now that nothing I can do can accomplish that as I had hoped. It won't be as simple as simply convincing him. He won't come back. And if he had the resources to bring down the legendary barrier of Uzu no Kuni then he is much stronger than we thought. Not to mention that that fortress on its own would be enough to lay siege to Konoha. Our only option right now is to try and make peace between our villages and hope we don't have a war. The fact that he's our enemy right now is exactly why we have to let them go."

Hinata nodded. "Naruto has recently decided that he will soon give Konoha an offer that will decide how history plays out. I hope everything will become clear in the course of the next few months, but for now, we need to prepare our clans to leave. Get them out of here."

"Wait." Sasuke said as he was pulled to his feet. "I want to go with you. Not as a defector, but as a guest of Uzu."

"Of course you can." Shino said. "In fact, Naruto anticipated such a request and has set things up in case of such an event. He has also ordered that we try and convince you in the event that you didn't ask."

"Why?" Sasuke asked.

"Because he has some things he wants to talk to you about." Shino said.

The Hyuga members were about to continue leading them out when Hinata raised her had to stop them. She pulled out a scroll and unraveled it.

"Naruto also has a gift for you, Tsunade." She said as she channeled chakra into the seal of the scroll. A moment later and Jiraiya was laying there. He was bloody but breathing. Tsunade was by his side in a moment, scanning for injuries.

"He's already been healed. Naruto saw to that, but he won't be doing much for a while." Shino said.

"T-Tsunade." Jiraiya groaned out as he regained consciousness. "The toads betrayed me. They attacked me the moment Naruto gave the word."

"Yes. They have been with him this whole time." Shino said.

"Why? Why do this?" Tsunade asked.

"This is what it has always been for Tsunade. You won't understand until later, but this has always been about your hope. This is why he's giving Jiraiya back to you. It's why he's giving you this chance to survive. Now take your wounded. Sasuke, go pack what you want to take with you. We're leaving soon." Hinata said.

"You're not going anywhere," Tsunade said, looking up at her. "I should kill you now."

"If you threaten me again, I will give the word for our clans to attack the village. You won't get the chance to put up a fight before you've already lost a considerable portion of your shinobi and village." Hinata said. "Now get out of here."

* * *

 _ **It**_ had been a few days and Hinata and Shino were walking down the streets of Konoha towards the main gate. Their individual clans were following them while Tsunade and Sasuke walking upfront with them. Crowds of villagers lined the sides of the streets as they watched the two clans leaving.

Sasuke and Tsunade had been infuriated to learn that Itachi was gone. However, they had been forced to move on as new issues arose.

To prepare for things with Naruto, Tsunade had decided to call a summit between the Kage and try to create some allies within the other villages. She had wanted to be the one to call the meeting so that she had an opportunity to put her village forward in taking the initiative. That plan had been ruined when Tsunade found a scroll on her desk detailing a summit being called by the Kazekage, with the Raikage and Tsuchikage agreeing.

They neared the gate before stopping. In front of the gate stood Danzo, hundreds of ANBU and ROOT agents surrounding him.

Danzo had used the last few days to organize all he could to overthrow Tsunade. It also helped that most of the council had been on his side when they heard that Sasuke would be going as well. He had used Tsunade's recent failure with Sakura, her allowing the two clans to leave, and her allowing Sasuke to go as well to convince most everyone to back him as he seized control. The fact that they were leaving to join Naruto did not help the situation. As of now, he was Hokage.

"What's going on here Danzo?" Tsunade asked.

"Your foolishness has gone on long enough. I will not allow the Byakugan and the secrets of the Aburame clan to leave this village. As of now, you are no longer the Hokage. Restrain them." Danzo said.

Before anyone could move there was a large flash of black and white light. Everyone in the crowd, not counting Tsunade, had a bunshin of Naruto laying a hand on their shoulder. The most remarkable thing about them was that their free hands held a black, three-pronged kunai. It was different, but its purpose and origin was obvious. They were markers for the Hiraishin.

"Danzo Shimura," The Naruto at the front, his hand on Hinata's shoulder, said. "I will not allow you to get in the way of my plans, especially not with you being such a key part of them. Now stay out of my way or I will break you now."

Danzo's eye was wide as he gave a signal as quickly as he could. His ANBU and ROOT quickly tried to get to them and stop them. They were too late. There was a bright flash of black and white as they disappeared. When they could see again, there was a single clone standing next to Tsunade.

"Danzo. You wanted to be Hokage so much that you have put yourself in a very precarious spot." Naruto said. "All the trouble you've gone through will be wasted if you fail. Watch your back." He said before dispersing.

* * *

 _ **Sasuke**_ was looking out of the window to Naruto's office. He was amazed to see what Naruto had built in only three and a half years.

When they had arrived, the Hyuga and Aburame clans had been directed to the compounds that had been prepared for their arrival. A woman that Sasuke recognized as Tayuya had come up to him and greeted him, though she had not acted with familiarity. She had lead him to Naruto's office and told him to wait. He had tried to ask her a question, but she had simply called him a crude name and left.

After waiting for a short while the door opened. Sasuke turned around, expecting to see Naruto. He was disappointed to see a man wearing a mask and holding a stack of papers. The man placed the papers on Naruto's desk and left.

A few minutes later and Naruto finally walked in. Sasuke was turned around instantly. He was shocked when Naruto put an arm around his shoulder and had a smile on his face. Naruto was acting as if the events of his intrusion into Konoha had not happened. Sasuke noticed the differences in Naruto's cloak that he had been told about.

"Sasuke. It's great to see you again. It has been quite a long time my friend. How are things? Come on, let me show you around while we talk." Naruto said.

Sasuke lifted Naruto's arm up and stepped away from him.

"Why are you acting as if none of what happened these past few days actually happened? You killed Sakura, put Jiraiya in the hospital, and then you had Itachi in your place to tell me about my clan. What is going on?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto's face became more serious. "You should come with me. I have something to show you." He said before walking out of his office. He created a clone to handle the paperwork on his desk before having Sasuke follow him.

As they walked, Naruto decided to break the silence that surrounded them.

"Would you like to know the reason I haven't destroyed Konoha yet? I have told people that I wanted to destroy the village's hope, but I could do that just by unleashing the Kyuubi. So, take a guess."

"You can't control the Kyuubi. It would kill you."

Naruto turned to face him, though he was still walking. "That is where you're wrong. While examining the seal, I discovered something. My father, Minato Namikaze, infused a sizable portion of his and my mother's chakra so that they could appear to me later on when I need help with the Kyuubi, though you should know that his real name is Kurama."

"Then why?"

Naruto smiled. "Originally, the plan was to build my personal strength, as well as Hinata's and Shino's. The plan was to return and destroy Konoha with the people I could gather. But then, everything changed. I wanted to rip Konoha apart at the seams as soon as possible, and a part of me still does. But, I have come to the realization that, while I did want to rebuild Uzu and raise it higher than it was before, that this place had become a part of me. I want this place to grow into something so much more than I had originally thought. I want this entire village to become something....more." he said before chuckling. "Originally, this village was just supposed to be a new home for me. Now, it is the embodiment of everything I have ever dreamed of. It is a home for me, and a beacon of hope and light for others, no matter how lost in shadow they are. The Akatsuki are an example. I took their leader, who was so lost in his own darkness that he thought what he was doing was for a better world and brought him to the light. I did the same with most of the missing-nin that were a part of the group. I would never have been able to do that without Uzu. I'm going to lead this village through a change in the world as I wipe out the corruption and such from this reality."

"What's going on Naruto?" Sasuke asked. "What is the point in all of this?" he asked, not understanding what Naruto was getting at with all of this.

"You want your answer sooner rather than later?" Naruto asked. He put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder and they disappeared.

They quickly reappeared in a large, dimly lit room. There were monitors all along the walls and light emanating from large tanks of semi-clear, blue fluid. Some of them had people in simple, white clothing with breathers on their faces. The breathers had small tubes feeding into them to provide oxygen.

Naruto started walking down the long room, Sasuke following along.

"These are called bacta tanks, also known as rejuvenation tanks or rejuve tanks. They are large, specialized tanks that are filled with a powerful healing agent secreted by the Vratix, a massive species of insects that use this substance for just about everything, making it rather easy to acquire if you know how. This substance is called bacta, which promotes rapid healing that could even give the jinchuriki a run for their Ryo. It can truly come in handy if any injuries inhibit any of our shinobi from being active, or if their injuries are beyond medical ninjutsu. While medical ninjutsu has limitations, such as re-growing entire limbs, I, while using artificial elements, can coerce the human body into re-growing its flesh. When someone loses an arm or such we use false bones made out of metal using similar mechanics as a puppet to give their re-growing limbs a framework. To be honest, if we took enough time, we could almost replace someone's entire skeleton with metal. However, it would be exceedingly painful and time-consuming. Needless to say, no one had had it done yet, let alone volunteered for such a procedure. Now allow me to show you why this is important." Naruto said. He stopped and gestured to a specific tank.

Sasuke looked at it and nearly had a heart attack. "How? This isn't possible. The body was buried. I saw it myself."

"Things are never as they seem Sasuke. Deception is a ninja's art form Sasuke. There were several times that she passed out from the pain. I used the last time she did to use a technique to force her into using the Kage Bunshin jutsu with my chakra and used seals to force her conscious mind into the clone's body so that she could still experience everything. You have no idea how much time and energy was wasted on keeping the body sustained after I blew it up and ended its life." Naruto said, looking at Sakura floating in the tube. Her body was still missing patches of muscle, and most of her body was still missing layers of skin.

"You bastard," Sasuke said.

Naruto rounded on him. "Nothing can be gained if you aren't willing to lose something! Sometimes, one must discard humanity and become a monster! You can't change anything unless you can discard part of yourself too! To endure becoming a monster and then come back, you must be willing to temporarily abandon your humanity! Do you think that if I hadn't she would still be alive?! You think I'm a monster?! Had I preserved my own humanity and sent anyone else to do it she would have been tortured to the same extent if not worse, and still be dead! You know, there was a time they, Konoha, cared nothing for her. When their only experience of humanity was or will be my blade coming down at them! But that was quite some time ago! Now they care who she is because she trained under Tsunade! Let's get back to now! When I plucked her from Konoha, I acted in the face of objections that she was a mere child and of no practical use to anyone!" Naruto practically shouted. He sighed before his voice calmed. "I have learned to ignore such naysayers when quelling them was out of the question. Still, I am not one to squander my investments, and I remain confident she was worth far more than the initial appraisal. That's why I must now extract from you some small repayment owed for hers and your own survival." He said calmly.

"What are you talking about?"

Before he could react, Naruto planted his palm on Sasuke's chest. Chains and seals shot out from his palm and retrained Sasuke, while at the same time feeding a sedative into Sasuke's system.

"When you wake up, you will have another gift Sasuke. I would, of course, like to think that knowing Sakura was alive was a gift." He paused. "Sleep soundly Sasuke."

When Sasuke was unconscious, Itachi stepped from the shadows to pick Sasuke up.

"You do know that even if we do this and it works, that disease is still killing me. Even the bacta tanks can't cure it. You know that."

"I know, Itachi. I'm working on it. Sakura has been studying under Tsunade on fighting, as well as actual medical applications to her training. Hopefully, we can use that to our advantage. Has Sasori prepared the Memory-Concealing Manipulative Sand Technique yet?"

"Yes. Are you sure that this is the best idea?"

"Yes. Get our people ready to move. We leave for Iron in ninety-six hours."


	16. Chapter 16

_**Naruto**_ was standing in his office, thinking about his newest recruits. Han had accepted the more peaceful area of his offer and chosen to live in a small cabin near the village. Yugito, on the other hand, had fully accepted his offer to join Uzu's shinobi corps.

Hinata and Shino had managed to settle their clans into their new homes. Shortly after, Naruto had made short work of getting rid of the caged bird seals on the Hyuga branch members. The main house members had tried to object, but Hinata had quickly crushed any thoughts of questioning the decision. Naruto and her both knew that they would try to cause trouble later on down the road, so they took any who were against the decision to remove the seals, against Hinata, against being in Uzu, had had already started thinking about causing trouble, or could not be dissuaded from any of these thoughts, and put them in one room. There were only a little more than twenty that fit such a categorization.

Naruto had told them that what he was going to do was going to protect their clan. He had then branded the twenty-three members with an altered version of the caged bird seal. The new seal would destroy their eyes should they die, or someone try to forcefully remove the eye. However, it was also set so that they could not be tortured or coerced into giving up the eye freely. It had to truly be of their own free will. The seal was also on the eyes themselves. This allowed anyone they given to have the same safeguards. Hinata had then banished them. Naruto had made quick work of taking them out of Uzu and leaving them on the edge land of Iron. The location was chosen due to its neutrality. With the matter settled, things had quickly calmed down.

However, not everything had gone well. Obito had reported that when he went back for Madara's body, it had been missing. He believed it to be the work of Black Zetsu. Naruto had also found that Kabuto's body was never found, and some of Orochimaru's data on Edo Tensei had been taken. He had the feeling that this would cause plenty of problems later.

Naruto turned when Chronicle opened the door and walked in. He didn't look happy. He had been away, working with his own organization, and had only just gotten back. He had been with Naruto so far, but was starting to question his actions recently. This also counted for when he had heard of Sakura Haruno. He went and sat down.

"Naruto, can I ask you why a report I read describes the injuries sustained by Sakura Haruno from you torturing her?" Chronicle asked.

"If you're going to ask me why I tortured her without trying to acquire information or anything, then I suggest you save your breath Chronicle. I have no time for such sentiments of humanity right now. And besides, even if I explained my reasons, you would never understand them. Not to mention that it did have a purpose. However, I know that you will still be against torturing her to the degree I did," Naruto responded.

Chronicle knew he was right. He could understand using it to get important information, but the fact that it seemed to have no purpose had caused him to question the action.

"What are you talking about?"

"That is irrelevant."

"I don't think-"

"I suggest we deal with more pressing matters, Chronicle. Such as the upcoming Kage summit or the group of immortals that we now have to deal with," Naruto interrupted him.

Chronicle pursed his lips in frustration. He calmed down, realizing that now was not the time to try and figure out Naruto's reasoning behind torturing the girl. He also realized that something else must be going on if he was healing her in a bacta tank.

"Let's start with the immortals then," Chronicle said.

"I figured you would go with that first," Naruto said, pulling out three files. "The two we encountered were called Ryuunosuke and Bluebeard. The first one wasn't much. He seemed too bored to put forth a whole lot of effort. The only thing I found scary about him was my inability to kill him. However, if he's part of their inner circle of higher-ups, he must be stronger than he lets on. The next one was worse. Bluebeard split off to fight Kakuzu, and I expected Kakuzu to be able to cripple him at the very least. He did a good job of it, but Bluebeard had destroyed one of his hearts and had even him suggesting that he retreat while we could. Not to mention, unlike the first one, or Hidan, this one used jutsu. Kakuzu said that he used Katon and Fuuton jutsu."

Chronicle was listening while looking through the third file. "Then there's this Ochiai. His abilities are unknown, as is just about everything about him, and the only reason we have these photos is that they were among Hidan's possessions."

In Ochiai's file, there were two photos. The first was a close up of the man's face that was covered by a metal mask with two dark lines going up his face, disappearing where the eye holes started, reappearing on the other side of the eyes, and going over the top of his skull. The other picture was of a man in a black suit with a white undershirt. He had black hair that came just short of touching his shoulders and black eyes.

"The fact that most of his abilities are unknown makes him even more dangerous," Chronicle said. "I'll have my own people start keeping an eye out for them. The worst part is that there's no way to tell if their part of this group unless they declare that they are." He sighed. "Other than that, there's nothing we can do. What about the issue of the Kage summit?"

Naruto sighed. "Remember how Danzo Shimura took over Konoha?" he asked, seeing Chronicle's slight nod. "I can't explain my biggest reason to you, you wouldn't understand, but I can tell you that torturing Sakura did have a purpose. The whole reason Danzo got any of that information about how badly Sakura was wounded, much about her death at all, or about the Hyuga clans and Aburame clans leaving was because I leaked it to him. Tsunade was trying to keep it all secret the entire time. He didn't know it was me, but I was able to set things in motion that helped me put these people where I want them. Before, Danzo was always surrounded by his ROOT. Now, he will be leaving for the Kage summit soon. He's going to have two guards with him at that time. He might have a few more guards accompany him for a while, but not enough to stop whoever we decide to take to go after him. Once he's dead, ROOT will collapse with him. I have other reasons for wanting him dead, but his death will make several things simpler."

"So, all of this was to kill Danzo?"

"Not entirely, but for the most part. Like I said, there are several other reasons for wanting him dead, but those are irrelevant for now. Oh, and there is one other piece of business. Obito reported something to me. He told me that Madara Uchiha's body has been taken. It was Zetsu from what he was able to figure out. Obito was able to move the statue into a sealed area under Uzu, but Madara was gone before he could move him. So make sure to have your network keep an eye out for any all-powerful Uchiha as well."

Chronicle nodded. "So who are you thinking about taking with you?"

"I can give you a list and details about it later. For now, though, I have business to take care of in Oto and Snow before the summit. I will talk to you later Chronicle."

"Wait. Before you go, there's a favor I would like to ask of you."

"What is it?"

"From now on, only call me Chronicle while on a mission. From now on, call me Akira Uzumaki."

After Chronicle left, Naruto stood up and looked out the window to his office and looked at the moon. "I hope this is all over soon."

In Naruto's mindscape, the figure sat in a chair down several passageways. He sat there with his feet propped up on a desk while he looked at a screen with his red irises and golden sclera. The screen showed him what Naruto was saying, hearing, and seeing. He chuckled to himself.

 _'Is that so?'_ he thought. He looked at the moon and reached out his hand towards the image before clenching his fist around it. _'I_ _wish I may,_ _I wish I might, have_ _this wish I wish tonight._ _I want that star, and I_ _want it now._ _I want it all and I don't care how. Too bad, I have to wait._ _Careful what you wish Naruto._ _Careful what you say._ _You may regret it.'_ he chuckled again. _'_ _Careful what you wish Naruto,'_ he said before his voice turned into a snarl. _'_ _or you just might get it.'_

* * *

 _ **Akira**_ was standing in the middle of a massive room that was constructed of metal and sealing arrays. It had been constructed for him to practice trying to control his latent abilities that stemmed from the Shizen Clan. He had often lost control and had to wait until he had passed out to regain control.

He sat there and focused before drawing on the power. Before, it had never existed. But now, the power was always there, just waiting to be called upon. It waited to run rampant.

He drew upon the power, only trying to draw out a small amount of the strange chakra. The moment he made contact with it, the chakra rushed over him in a torrent as it tried to consume him. He pushed back, trying to put it back. But as he was on the cusp of losing control and maintaining a semblance of humanity, he held it there a moment before pushing back and ripping some of the chakra away and putting the rest where it came from. He felt it. He could feel what little power he had been able to grasp. He opened his eyes and saw the fingers on his left hand covered in small platelets of armor and a small, black, wispy aura. He gave a small smile.

"Now I'm getting somewhere," he said to himself. He quickly gripped his arm in pain as the armor tried creeping up his arm. Black metal spikes grew out of his forearms as he tried to lock the power back away. After a moment, the armor and aura faded away. He collapsed a moment later.

"Not good enough. I need more practice," He said.

* * *

 _ **"You**_ sure like spending time in here."

"Of course I do," Naruto said.

"Why?"

"Because I might die. They might die. Then where will this world be?" Naruto said, looking at the tanks.

"They're coming along nicely."

"Why ask? It's not like you care. All you want is to be is free."

"True, but the more successful you are the further you get. And the further you get, the better things could be for me."

"Just go away."

"You and I both know why that's impossible."

"Then go back down your corridor and at least give me some semblance of being alone. All I want is to be rid of you."

"So let me get this strait. You want me to leave you alone with the pathetic clones you've been messing with the genetic code of, even though I would actually still be here?"

"Shut up."

"What makes you so good compared to those others."

"Shut up."

"What about this makes you any different Orochimaru."

"I SAID SHUT UP! THIS ISN'T ABOUT MY OWN POWER! THIS IS ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT I HAVE SOMETHING TO LEAVE BEHIND!"

"Alright. Fine."

* * *

 _ **Sasuke**_ stirred for a moment and opened his eyes to find he couldn't see. He put his hands to his face to find that there were bandages around where his eyes were. He was about to try and take them off when he heard Itachi's voice.

"So you're finally awake."

Everything came back to him at that moment. He tried to sit up, but he was stopped by a searing pain in his eyes.

"I would suggest another hour or so of rest," Itachi said.

"Why are my eyes covered?" Sasuke asked.

"My eyes are bandaged over as well."

"What?!" he asked, realization dawning on him.

"You and I both know what happens when the Mangekyō Sharingan is used past its limit. I'm sure you felt its strain when you fought Naruto. It didn't do much to you yet, but they have been taking their toll on me for years now. It is not pleasant for one's health to slowly fade away in such a way. I can only imagine how Madara Uchiha felt when he took his eyes from his brother's body. Do you know how he got his eternal eyes?"

"No. Most information about the Mangekyo is unknown. It was by luck that I even know about the Eternal form."

"His brother and he had gained the eyes through years of watching their friends and family slaughtered in the war. I'm surprised that so few of the Uchiha gained the eyes during that era considering how many of their friends and family were killed. After a fight with Tobirama, Izuna, Madara's brother, died due to a mortal wound he gained during his fight. His dying wish was for Madara to take his eyes and protect the clan."

There was a pause.

"So, does this mean that we have the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan?"

"Yes. While you were unconscious, Naruto had his medics keep your new eyes, and mine, in a state of limbo to avoid damaging them while they heal. They were able to channel chakra into our eyes and examine them. Both of our eyes have evolved, like those of Madara Uchiha."

"Why? Why would Naruto do this?"

"You assume I didn't have a part in this?"

There was a pause.

"Sasuke, do you know why Naruto wanted to bring you here?" Itachi asked. "He did it because he knew that, anywhere else, you two would-be enemies. He wanted this to be a place where you two could be friends again, a middle ground between you two as a bridge. He didn't want things to turn out like this. He tries not to show it, but he's struggling with all of this, wanting nothing more than for all of it to be over. You aren't making it easy Sasuke. He's had to re-write plans so that he doesn't lose his friends, and so that they don't die either. But it has been hard on him. Now rest Sasuke, and think about what I've said. We have things to discuss later on."

Sasuke tried to deny it, but the pain and tiredness he felt consumed him as he returned to his slumber.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ was sitting down at a small table with Koyuki. They had been using the past half hour catching up over a small lunch, as well as discussing some of the advancements and such that Snow had made, or even some of the new weapons they had created.

"Well, it has been great talking with you, but I have other things to attend to," Naruto said.

"Of course," Koyuki said. "Remember to come visit your allies every now and then."

"Yes, I will keep that in mind. However, before I go, I had a question for you."

"What would that be?"

Naruto's face and tone became serious. "Is that other weapon complete yet? The one that only a trusted few know of."

Koyuki had a small smile. "It's finally ready. It took a very long time, but it's ready. But remember, this is on a completely different scale than even the Bahamut fortress or the Prototype Mobile Defense Mechs. Don't expect to be able to fire it on command. It will take time to ready and aim."

"Thank you."

"You never did tell me why you wanted it."

Naruto chuckled darkly. "Because, Koyuki, I need a fallback plan. If I die, I need to make sure that it's not alone. If I fall-"

"You're going to take everyone down with you."

"Yes," Naruto said, sounding solemn.

"Then I hope you never have any reason to use it."

"I understand," he said before disappearing.

When he reappeared, he appeared in the middle of one of Orochimaru's facilities it Otogakure. Once Orochimaru had died they had set up the real Otogakure and started helping it establish itself. Naruto had also taken the summoning contract for the snakes and given it to Anko.

Naruto was instantly greeted by Sakon and Ukon. They gave him a report about how the Uzu four had been able to keep peace within the village now that its previous leader was dead. They had also led him to a few chambers where they had some important things to show him. First, they took him to a room that had a man floating in a tank. It was a man recognized as Suigetsu.

"Wake him up," Naruto said. "I have a group of swordsmen to rebuild."

Suigetsu was quickly woken up and removed from the tank. He looked up to Naruto who pulled out a scroll and unsealed a blade the man quickly recognized.

Naruto tossed the blade and Suigetsu easily caught.

"I have other things to do for now. Get up and moving and I'll explain everything later. But for now, all you have to know is that Orochimaru is dead," Naruto said before leaving Suigetsu to comprehend what he had bee told.

Sakon and Ukon then led him to a room with one person in it. They were sitting quietly in the corner.

Naruto walked in and sat in front of him. He had been found in one of the other bases and brought here.

"Hello, Jugo," Naruto said.

The young man looked up at him. He didn't respond.

Naruto sighed. He stood up and stepped a few feet away before forming a few hand seals and placing his hands together. "Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei"

A single coffin rose from the ground beside him before falling open. It was Kimimaro.

Jugo was shocked to see his old friend.

"The original seals of the jutsu only allowed the body to appear alive if they were being controlled," he said as the cracks on Kimimaro's body started closing. "Yet, if they were given free rein they would appear in a state of decay. I have solved that problem."

Kimimaro stepped out of his coffin and looked around him. He saw Jugo and then Naruto. It only took a few moments to recognize him. He went to attack Naruto but stopped just short of doing anything.

"I might be giving you free rein, but that doesn't mean I won't stop you from attacking me. Perhaps you should settle down and allow me to explain. The world has changed. Orochimaru is dead, and I'm here to give you a new purpose. I am here to give you the purpose of choosing."

* * *

 _ **After**_ Naruto had been able to explain everything that had happened to the two, he had left them to think about his offer. He had offered them to stay as shinobi or civilians if they pleased. Whatever they chose, they also had the choice of staying in Oto or Uzu. Naruto had also told Jugo about knowing more about his clan. He had told him some about the clan's history and how he knew someone connected to it. He had then left them to think about his words.

He had then had Sakon and Ukon show him the other important thing they had found. Naruto walked into a large room with a glass tank in it. It was filled with a large liquid and had a parson floating in it. It seemed like the bacta tanks, though the fluid seemed to be keeping the man in stasis like Suigetsu was, rather than healing him.

"What is this?" Naruto asked.

"We found it in Orochimaru's records as part of a project called 'deadman'," Sakon said.

"Does anyone know if he's dangerous? What do those records say?"

"We couldn't find much on him, some of the details were destroyed. But, if you're asking if he's actively hostile, he's one of Orochimaru's test subjects. It's hard to say," Ukon said.

"From what we could tell, Orochimaru wiped his mind and was trying to imprint him with memories and such so that he wouldn't be mindless, but would be of his own way of thinking. He was able to give him knowledge and info, but not necessarily ways of thinking. He might know of Orochimaru, but, with him dead, he might not share the same views that Orochimaru was trying to give him," Sakon said.

Naruto considered for a moment. "Let's wake him up. I'm curious."

"Sir? That might not be a good idea," Sakon said. "We said that he might not be dangerous, that doesn't mean he's not."

"Well, if he does attack, don't react. I'll handle him if necessary."

They could tell he was being serious. They both walked over to the tank and activated a small mechanism before the tank started draining the fluid. When the fluid was gone, the front to the tank split and opened. The man fell forward, landing on his hands and knees as he coughed up remnants of the fluid. When he had finally cleared it away, he stood and looked at Naruto. A moment later he rushed forward and pinned Naruto to the wall by his neck.

"Before you die, I need a name," the man said.

"Naruto Uzumaki, Uzukage and power holder over a great deal of the elemental nations. And I don't often take threats lightly."

"Not your name. I need mine. I know things, but Orochimaru couldn't create any kind of connection. His words are hollow. Vessel, perfection, weapon, crow. 'Crow' was among the last. It was some sort of designation. It might work. You can call me Crow. If you are worthy of your command over the nations, prove your strength and try to destroy me."

"You want me to try and kill you?"

"I want nothing. I was created to fight. No one ever asked what I want. Orochimaru's words have failed. He has failed. I feel nothing for him or his enemies, and without my own reasons, one fight is as good as any other. Might as well start with you."

"Is it really so easy to forget the purpose you were given?"

"Orochimaru was just a voice. And besides, if his words were true, he created something stronger than he was. So he is not worthy of using me as a vessel. If his hatreds could not compel me, then they have failed as well. I feel nothing. There is no purpose."

"Then follow my command. I'll give you a purpose. I can give you strong enemies to face."

"That could be...acceptable. But I doubt it would be that simple. What if I refuse?"

"Were you to attack me, yes I would kill you. However, I find that people only have value when acting according to their own will. I have no interest in anyone who can't think on their own."

Crow stood there thinking for a moment.

"If you wish, I will have you set up with supplies to set out on your own," Naruto said.

"On my own?" Crow asked.

"Yes. You said that Orochimaru failed. So, why should his imprint of fighting instinct last? Do what many have done before you. Set out of their own to seek their own purpose. Live your own life to seek out what you want."

"That...seems acceptable," Crow said, pausing to think. "Finding my own purpose?" he mumbled to himself as he put Naruto down. "I think I'll take you up on that."

* * *

 _ **Tsunade**_ was sitting beside Jiraiya's hospital bed, waiting for him to wake up. He had been sleeping the past few days, ever since Hinata had delivered him to her.

Ever since Danzo's take over, she had had to do very little. Danzo was trying to keep an eye on her while he made sure that his control was going unchallenged.

While she had had little to do, she had been keeping an eye on Jiraiya, as well as using medical ninjutsu to speed up his recovery. At first, he had been recovering at a decent pace. However, the day before had seen him nearing death for several hours. He had recovered shortly afterward. Tsunade thought that he was nearly going to become conscious before he had once again gotten worse. When he had gotten worse the second time, he had been writhing in pain and shouting. They had been forced to put him in a temporary coma until he had stabilized again. When he had finally stabilized, they had taken him off of the drugs that kept him in stasis. His vital signs had shown him in a near conscious state a few minutes ago, and Tsunade had been alerted. Tsunade had been monitoring him since she had been alerted.

Tsunade had also taken a few minutes from her schedule, or lack thereof, to talk to Katsuyu about how Naruto was able to use a second Sage mode. Katsuyu said that he had to have studied under two clans in their respective homes to be able to do so. Katsuyu had also said that Naruto had to have found the dragon contract of the Uzumaki and signed it from the description given for Naruto's sage mode.

She was thinking about the things that had happened recently. She had wondered how Danzo had gotten the information he had used to take over. Then there was Jiraiya. Why had they given him back?

Then Hinata's words came to her.

'You won't understand until later, but this has always been about your hope. This is what this has always been about.'

' _Why? They wanted this, but why?'_ she thought to herself.

She noticed Jiraiya stir and stood up to go check on him. She had a small smile as she saw his eyes open.

"Tsu...nade," Jiraiya groaned out. "How long have I been out?"

"A few days. How are you feeling?" she asked him.

"Like my insides are trying to kill me, but none the worse for wear," he said, forcing a small smile. Jiraiya's smile disappeared as he went into a coughing fit. Blood flew out of his mouth as he did.

Tsunade was instantly over him, examining him.

"Well, I've been wanting you over me all these years. Never expected it to be in these circumstances." Jiraiya joked at how close her body was.

Tsunade stepped back and smiled at him. She would normally be angry at such a comment but could tell what he was doing. He was making light of a situation that could be dire.

"Back when Naruto had me, he put some drugs in me. Said that I was going to be in a lot of pain. He told me that it was going to be a lot worse before it got better. He cut me open, kept me awake for most of it. I don't know what he did, but he said that everything would be revealed in time. He said that we needed to prepare ourselves. He said that he wanted this to be fun like this was some sort of game," Jiraiya said.

There was a pause.

"We should open me up again. We need to find out what he did," Jiraiya said.

"Are you sure? I can see your point, but..." She trailed off.

"Yeah. For all we know, he could have removed some of my organs. We need to know what he did. We might as well do it now."

Tsunade nodded.

Ten minutes later, they were ready to perform surgery on Jiraiya. The man had decided to stay awake in case there were any seals inside of his body that he would need to examine. Tsunade had told him that it would be painful, but he had ignored her.

Tsunade went to use a scalpel to start off. She and everyone else in the room were shocked when the blade made contact with Jiraiya's skin before stopping completely. Tsunade tried again, only to see the blade bend. In disbelief, Jiraiya sat up, took the blade from her hand, and slammed it into his chest. The moment the blade hit the skin it shattered like glass.

Before any of them could react, layers of sealing arrays appeared over his skin. After a moment, very little of his actual skin could be seen.

"T-That's impossible," Jiraiya said. "When an odd-numbered seal and an even-numbered seal connect or are placed over one another, they cancel each other out. But these are woven together in a way I can't imagine. How in the world did Naruto do this?"

The seals all faded within a moment. One was left on his chest. The seal disappeared as a small piece of paper and a manila folder materialized in its place. Tsunade picked it up and read it aloud.

"'Hello lady Tsunade. The information in the folder is very important. I request that it not be opened before noon in four days. Now, onto the important things. The fact that you're reading this means you've tried to figure out what I did to Jiraiya when I cut him open and did some poking around. I think you can figure out for yourself what those sealing arrays do. Here is my gift to you, Lady Hokage. As long as you and Jiraiya stay out of my way, Jiraiya can't be harmed. I'm the only one who can hurt him now, me and a select few others that are with me. Now, I want to make something very clear. I can be the hero of your village, or I can be the monster you have always believed me to be. Konoha will be getting a few gifts here soon, but be careful. These gifts can be double-edged swords. Stand in my way and the gifts become curses. Remain out of sight and out of mind, and the gifts will only get better. But these don't come without a price, Nothing. Ever. Does. Soon you will be required to make a choice. I will offer you this choice and allow you to choose your suffering. So, let me ask you this. Whose lives do you cherish the most? I can take those lives from you, and, just as easily, I could return them. Now think on your sins while I think on my own. Let's see who reaches the end of the line first.'"

Everyone in the room was silent.

"Well, Lady Hokage, we have some work to do," Jiraiya said.

"I think I need to fill you in on some of the things that have happened," Tsunade said.

* * *

 _ **Sasuke**_ was being led by Itachi towards Naruto's office. They walked in silence as Sasuke thought about the things that had happened. Now that he thought things through, he realized Naruto knocked him out to switch his and Itachi's eyes because he would most likely have refused if asked outright.

He thought about how different his and Itachi's Sharingan had turned out. There was his own EMS, which was only changed by the straightened, reversed version of Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan design into the center of his own, Itachi's had come to incorporate his into the design. Itachi's EMS had become much different.

When they finally reached Naruto's office, Itachi gave a small nod before leaving. Sasuke went to open the door but stopped when he heard laughter on the other side. Sasuke entered the room and found that Naruto's desk was gone, a table and chairs replacing it. At the table sat Naruto, Hinata, and Shino.

The three looked up and Naruto gestured to an open seat.

"Sasuke. Glad you could join us. Have a seat," Naruto said, trying to stop his laughter from before.

Sasuke walked in and sat down.

"Come on Sasuke, smile," Naruto said. "Let's talk. That is what friends do after all."

They sat there for nearly an hour. At first, Sasuke had to force a smile, being apprehensive and awkward about being there with them being so calm and talking like they had no care in the world. But as time went on, they got into their conversations. They laughed, they talked, they joked, and they even talked about their personal plans for the next few days. Sasuke was feeling like he belonged somewhere for the first time in a long time.

"Naruto," Shino said, getting his attention. "I don't believe Sasuke has had a tour of the island yet."

Naruto's smile grew. "You're absolutely right Shino," he said, standing up. He had decided to forgo his Kage cloak for the day. "Come on Sasuke. I have something to show you. I would like to do something I just realized I have yet to do. I think it's time I formally welcome you to my home."

After a while of walking through the village, Naruto took Sasuke to one of the hangers that kept the airships. Naruto had had one of the Shiva class ships up into the air. Sasuke was amazed to see the airship itself, but his mind went black for a moment at what he saw waiting for them in the sky.

"Bahamut, Lord of the Sky," Naruto said. "Sometimes, it's my home away from home. When I need to get away and think, I come here. I stand at the highest point and have those at the controls take it as high as it can go. I like to sit there and think about being at the highest possible point in this world and being mere inches away from the stars above. It's why I stayed hidden for so long. I needed time to complete these things. The Sky Fortress Bahamut, a massive airship. Designed by Snow to be Uzu's ultimate airship. The super-structure is so large that normal power supplies are insufficient to fuel it. It requires _billions_ of seals that have to be repaired every day just to keep it from collapsing in on itself."

Naruto pointed out the massive rings made of plates that floated around the structure. "Those rings are projections of millions of sealing arrays that support the weight and allow it to fly," he said.

"This is amazing," Sasuke said.

"Sasuke, I want to tell you my motto, and the motto I have shared with Uzu. Never compromise, even in the face of Armageddon. Would you like to know what it means? It actually applies to two things. The first means to never compromise on who you are, on your values, or on what you believe. The other means to never give up. But at the same time, it doesn't mean to never _surrender_. For the first meaning, you have the fact that any new information or experiences could change your goals, and even what you believe. But you should never let other people manipulate them, or those experiences change who you are.

"But that doesn't mean not to change because others provide information. In the end, it's up to you to decide what you let change you. Then the second part. You should never give up, but that doesn't mean to never surrender, adapt, or retreat when you need to. Does this mean to run simply because the odds are against you? No. It just means not to run because you're afraid or wanting to run. Always run and surrender if it protects those you care for. But don't let emotion cloud your judgment. If surrendering saves some lives but could lead to even more down the line, then sacrifices must be made. No matter how much pain it brings you, there sometimes is no right answer. In the end, the whole point of the phrase is staying true to the things that are important.

"But if you look deeper, it's not saying to never adapt, it's saying that you should adapt as you know you should. You see, that's why I told you about the things Itachi told me, back when we were in the Forest of Death. It allowed you to finally stop craving your brother's death as much as you wanted answers from him. It's also why I would still have helped you kill your brother if you had let me, or if you had still wanted to kill him at all. Because I knew that it was what you both believed deep down should be done. I gave you what you needed to in order to change on your own. Did I influence you? Sure. But I only gave you a nudge. I didn't manipulate you. I let you make your own decisions based on the information I provided. And it even allowed you to discard your hunger for revenge to such a degree that you still stand by Konoha, even after learning their part in your clan's death. I gave you the tool necessary to change who you were into who you wanted to be. That is why...." Naruto finally finished.

"Why what?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto smiled. "I'll tell you later."

A moment later, they had docked on the sky fortress. They were greeted before they moved to an elevator. As they quickly ascended, the walls became glass, allowing them to see the facilities they passed on the way up.

"This place isn't a fortress in the conventional sense," Naruto said. "It does operate as a fortress, but it's more of a base of operations and a supply center. Usually, it remains over or around Uzu, but I have given all of our shinobi seals that allow them to call for assistance should the situation be dire. The seals have several layers for different levels of needed assistance. It is because of this that the fortress has, in fact, left Uzu multiple times before. Some of those times were to send small airships with reinforcements or needed supplies. Others were for sending full squads and some of the smaller ships for aid in...certain missions. The main one was when we were going after Orochimaru and subduing Oto. One of our teams had more trouble than anticipated because we were unaware that that particular base was a main storage and housing facility for Orochimaru's experiments that dealt with the curse mark. Everyone there was already lost to the madness inflicted on them. So, when the fortress itself got there, which rarely happens as it just gets closer to send help rather than going to aid directly, and we discovered that all of our men were dead, we gathered our dead and wiped the base out of existence. It was a simple matter of firing the main gun at the bottom of the Bahamut."

Before Sasuke could respond, the elevator came to a stop. The walls had covered their view again, so Sasuke was unprepared for the blast of cold air that hit him. He opened his eyes to see the top of the fortress. Naruto seemed unfazed as he stepped out and took a deep breath. Sasuke followed him as he walked over to the ledge. Sasuke looked down and was able to see the island down below.

Naruto pointed to small dots in the water around the island. "There are ten of those at equal intervals around the island," he semi-shouted over the wind. "They are mostly underwater facilities were meant to replace the barrier in protecting the village. Look close, I think you can see what they do."

With it now pointed out, Sasuke was able to just barely see long, sleek metal cannons stretching outward from the island. there were large, red tubes connecting the cannons to their bases.

"Their large cannons," Sasuke said.

"Yes. They have a secret, but that is correct."

Sasuke looked at them all and noticed that there were actually eleven. He also realized that the eleventh was much larger, nearly the size of the hidden village, and much further away from the island, and had no cannon.

"What about that one?" Sasuke asked.

"A secret. There are several layers of defense around it, and I am one of the ten who knows more about it than that it exists. I personally hope that it is never used," Naruto said before taking another breath and looking up. "Let's forget that for now. Take a look Sasuke. You are at the highest existing point. How does it feel?"

Sasuke took a moment to relax and take in where he was. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The air was cold, yet soothing. The sound of the wind was allowing him to easily focus on a sound, rather than let his mind wander to unwanted thoughts. In one word, it was peaceful. Sasuke didn't know how, but he opened his eyes to find that it was already half an hour later.

"It does that to you," Naruto said. "Being up here and letting yourself embrace the calm. Time just sort of...slips away. When you let that happen, you don't even feel the cold. You just feel free," he said, leaning against the elevator door.

Sasuke nodded.

"Well, let's get back to the ground. We're going to meet Shino, Hinata, and Anko at a restaurant in half an hour," Naruto said.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ and the others sat at the large table. Naruto had told Sasuke that they were meeting several people at the restaurant but was not expecting the number of people there. Their entire restaurant had been reserved, and all the tables had been rearranged to form a single large table.

Naruto had his three friends on one side, Hinata sitting closest to him, and Akira, Angela, and Mikasa on his other side. Sasuke was on the other side of Anko with the Uzu Four across from him. Meizu and Gozu were across the table from Akira and Angela. Zabuza was sitting next to those two with Haku across from him. Kamaji was there as well. At the table also sat a Jounin that Naruto had befriended. Gaara was also there with his siblings and Matsuri.

The Jounin that was there was one of Naruto's generals, Date Masamune. He had semi-long brown hair, and a black eye-patch over his right eye while the left was a dark grey. He usually wore an uncommon and original blue suit, which had six sheaths meant for katanas embedded in the fabric near his thighs, over his black armor and a classic helmet with a golden crescent moon at its top. However, he was now in a set of sand-colored pants and shirts. His blades and ferocity on the battlefield had gained him the title, The One-Eyed Dragon.

Others at the table included the ex-Akatsuki including Obito. When Naruto and Sasuke were on there way down from the Bahamut fortress, Sasuke had been shocked to some of the many things he had been filled in on about the Akatsuki, Madara, and the Kyuubi attack all those years ago.

They had all been there for half an hour when everyone fell silent and looked at Sasori. He had a slight smirk as he got control back. Shino had told a joke and the man had released a small chuckle. It had shocked them all that the man who usually showed no emotion at all would laugh. Naruto started laughing before the whole table burst out to join him.

A few moments later, Naruto composed himself before leaning over to Akira as the rest of the table went back to conversing.

"Sorry to talk business right now," Naruto whispered "but you said you had a report."

"Yes. The Celestial Knights lost a ton of members to get it, but we have some more information on the immortals. I'll give you the reports later. However, they're going to be leaving soon."

"What do you mean?"

"The leaders of the Celestial Knights know a war is coming, and, while they want to stay, they know that it can't be prevented and that it isn't their fight. Their returning to where they came from. When the war is over and we stabilize everything over here, they are prepared to set up communication and trade routs."

"Alright," Naruto said.

"Tell me, have you picked who you're going to be sending to Taki?"

"Yeah. Kakazu will be going with Fuu and a team of ANBU. Though, they are both under orders to simply stabilize the area and bring the Land of Waterfalls under control with as little destruction and death as possible. They have been ordered that they are to take no unnecessary action."

Akira nodded. "Well, let's get back to this later and relax for now."

"Agreed."

* * *

 _ **During**_ the couple days after Naruto showed him the Bahamut fortress, Sasuke had seen Uzu and spent time with Naruto, Hinata, Shino, and Itachi. Itachi had taken the time to explain the things that had happened over the years, such as why he was with the Akatsuki. Itachi had been slightly surprised, yet at the same time not, that Sasuke had decided not to leave Konoha. His reasoning had been that Konoha was still his home and that he would not abandon the home he had sworn to protect.

And then, Sasuke had decided that it was finally time for him to return to Konoha. However, Naruto had told him that they were going somewhere else first. Naruto had told him that they were going to the Kage summit in a few hours. He would return to Konoha with Tsunade when the summit was over. Sasuke had tried to remind Naruto that Danzo had taken over Konoha, but Naruto had told him that it didn't matter.

He and Naruto were standing in the room that Sasuke had been staying in while Sasuke finished packing.

Sasuke had decided to take Naruto's word on Sakura. Naruto had told Sasuke that Sakura would soon be sent back to Konoha, but some of the injuries she was still recovering from could only be handled by his own medical teams and the bacta tanks.

Naruto was about to leave him for the time being before Sasuke decided to voice a question.

"Naruto, why was it that as soon as you came out of hiding, you came out ready for war? A better question, why did you come out trying to start a war?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto sighed. "You still don't get it, do you? This war has been going on far longer than you think. And that is why I will never compromise on the war I must wage," he said before turning to leave.

"What does that mean?" Sasuke asked. "What do you mean, Naruto?"

Naruto stopped. "Sasuke, do you still believe I'm wrong?"

Sasuke was shocked. All he could do was nod.

Naruto sighed. He turned around and drew his sword. He quickly tossed it up in the air. When it came down, he caught it by the blade as if he were grabbing the handle. Blood seeped out of his hand as he held the hilt out to Sasuke.

"If I am wrong, then tell me how you would bring peace to this world and an end to the corruption that infests it."

Sasuke stood there, unable to respond.

"You have told me that you will not let me destroy Konoha, so you need to show me why I am wrong. Do you have a goal that gives you the conviction to see it through to the end? Does it give you the conviction needed to strike me down right here and now? I ask that, if you have a worthy goal that can bring true peace and end corruption, you strike me down. Take control of Uzu, as my instructions are to let you take over as Uzukage should you present me with a worthy goal, and see it through to the end. I ask that you show me that you have a reason for declaring me wrong."

A moment passed as neither of them moved. Naruto could see that Sasuke wasn't going to do anything.

Naruto flipped his sword over and gripped the hilt before putting it back in its sheath. "Then when you and I see each other on the battlefield, I hope that you will have a better goal than simply protecting Konoha."

"Are you telling me that you would abandon Uzu and kill me if it brought peace to this world? Would you let your friends die and your village burn?!" Sasuke asked before Naruto could turn to leave again.

Naruto let a small smile form. It was full of sadness. "I hope it never comes to that because I don't know the answer to that question."

"Then at least give them a chance. I know that most of them don't deserve it, but give them a chance."

There was a pause. "No. But, I will give them a choice. That is the best I can do. Now I have some final things to take care of before we leave. Meet me at the main gate in two hours," Naruto said before disappearing in the Hiraishin.

* * *

 _ **"I'm**_ not arguing, but why lie to him?" Hinata asked.

They were standing there as Sakura was brought out of her bacta tank.

"If I had told him that I was going to make her help me by using Sasori's technique, he would have gone ballistic. I had to tell him that I needed longer than I did for her to finish healing so that he would leave her without question," Naruto said.

When she was finally removed from the tank and dried, Naruto motioned for Sasori to proceed. He watched as the young-looking man inserted a needle into the back of Sakura's neck. It disappeared a moment later as it embedded itself into her brain.

It only took a second before Sakura inhaled sharply and sat up. She leaned over the side of the cot she was on and vomited before a medic came over and offered her a cloth and a glass of water.

When she cleaned her face and drank the water, Sakura looked up. "How long have I been in the tank?"

"Just short of a week," the medic responded.

"Alright. Is the Lord Uzukage available? I have a report to file."

"I've already got the report I need from your team," Naruto said as he walked in. "We're going to monitor you for another hour to make sure you're fine and then we're going to send you home. Then I want you to get ready for work soon. The day after tomorrow I'll give you a file on the mission your on next. When you leave just ask and you can get a report on the injuries you sustained during your last mission."

"Could I ask what I should be preparing for tomorrow before my next mission? And how is my team?"

"You're team was already sent on a simple, low B-rank while you were recovering. They should be back in a week. You're going to be working in our hospital facilities to work on a cure for Itachi."

"Are you sure, sir?"

"You're one of our best medics. We're going to have you working with our other best medics. I'm going to have you working around the clock except for absolutely needed sleep and food. We're on a time limit here. The report you'll be getting after tomorrow will be on any progress made so far. I think this goes without saying, but I expect results before Itachi dies."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ was standing on the massive stone bridge, waiting for Danzo to arrive. The New Hokage had left Konoha the day before, and Naruto's scouts had reported that the war hawk was close.

Next to Naruto was Itachi, Kisame, Hinata, and Shino. Naruto had left clones of them With Sasuke as they went ahead to handle the old man.

Naruto saw several figures, though most were hidden, emerge from the tree line and approach the bridge. They stopped a few feet onto the structure. Naruto could tell that Danzo had known of his presence long before getting to the bridge.

"Hello, Danzo. Been a while, hasn't it," Naruto joked. Then he became serious. "Allow me to kill you quickly. I want to get this over with."

"You should have taken up my offer before. I won't allow you to leave this place," Danzo replied.

"Oh, you mean that offer from when I was imprisoned," Naruto said, chuckling. "Look at who's with me."

Danzo eyed those with Naruto. He gave a signal and was instantly surrounded by a few dozen ROOT shinobi, including Foo and Torune.

"You and I both know you're going to need more than that. You've seen the things I can do. And let's not forget about those with me. Think old man. You're going to need more than that to stop me," Naruto said.

Danzo sat there for a moment before reaching out his arm from its covering of his robe and taking off the large braces that covered it. He quickly undid the bandages on his arm to reveal the Sharingan in his arm.

"So what was left of Orochimaru's records was true. An arm of ten Sharingan. No doubt, you also have Shisui's eye under the bandages on your head."

Dazoo's visible eye squinted. "What do you know of Orochimaru's records?"

"I own Oto and the White Snake is dead. You are out here alone Danzo. Alone but for your ROOT. Would you like to know how I put you here?" Naruto asked.

Danzo didn't respond.

Naruto smirked. "Who do you think leaked information to you?" he said, watching Danzo's eye widen slightly. "You've been trying to get into Tsunade's inner circle for years. You offered money to the greediest of them and power to those who were most hungry for it, but it didn't work. Tsunade has three circles. You fit into the outermost one, the one full of people she hates or distrusts but has no choice but to be near. The second is people that she has around her but knows can't be trusted with the truly important things that she needs kept secret. But her innermost circle, that's where the info stayed. The one circle you have never been able to gain access to. So, then, where did the information come from? It was me. I was part of this since the beginning. You have been part of this since the very beginning. All part of the plan."

Danzo's eye widened even more. "This was all to get to me."

"CORRECT!" Naruto shouted in a tone of amusement. "I couldn't get to you when you were surrounded by hundreds of ROOT, when you were in your headquarters, without losing someone. But out here in the open? This is a whole other playing field. You're on my field now. So I ask that you please not use the Izanagi. Make this easy. Call off your dogs and let me kill you quickly."

There was a pause. "No. I can't do that. You may have outwitted me to get me out here, but even you are helpless against the power I have now," Danzo said, pulling down his cloak to reveal a face on his shoulder.

Naruto laughed. "The cells of Hashirama? I've read the reports, I told you that. Do you think that will work? I once used a seal to break the hold of an intricate genjutsu over the Jinchuriki of the Sanbi. I have since enhanced those seals in order to prevent genjutsu and such from affecting me. Not even the great Madara Uchiha could control me or the Kyuubi as long as he is sealed within me and my seals still working."

Danzo sneered. "Why should I believe you even have the ability to do that?"

Naruto's face became hardened. "Have you already forgotten? I'm an Uzumaki, and I have been living in Uzushiogakure. I have had four years to master everything I wish on the art of sealing arrays. The world is as I wish it to be."

Realization spread across Danzo's face. He could see a man who was telling nothing but the truth. His own face became hardened. "Then there's nothing left but to kill you."

"You think it's that easy?" Naruto asked, pulling out a large cylinder from within his cloak. "This is called a chaos mine," He said, sealing the outer plating into the top seals and revealing the grey sealing arrays within. "This entire weapon is made of so many seals that they have had to project themselves off of one another to form a solid three-dimensional object. I can even make them detonate on impact with the ground. I won't go into details, but just looking at this thing should tell you how intricate this is. Each seal holds metal senbon and can eject them at a pace that allows them to rip apart walls. An entire mine can bring down several nearby buildings. Now I would suggest you just die," he said before throwing the chaos mine.

One of the ROOT jumped forward and grabbed it. There was a pause as nothing happened.

Naruto chuckled. "A dud then? Then let's get on with it then."

Naruto was instantly in front of the ROOT that had grabbed the chaos mine. He ripped his fist through the man's chest before twisting around and moving away from the man to avoid a Katon jutsu that destroyed the body. Naruto pulled his sword from one of the seals on his arm as he ran forward and cut into two of the other ROOT, though they were not dead and one drew a sword while another prepared a jutsu.

The one with the sword didn't expect Kisame to come in and rip him in half with his Samehada. Naruto gave him a nod as Kisame smirked and engaged another one of the ROOT who had a drawn sword. The one who was preparing a jutsu was grabbed and crushed by a large, orange, and ethereal arm. Itachi quickly discarded the body from the hand of his Susanoo and walked calmly toward some of the now slightly uneasy ROOT. Hinata and Shino moved beside Naruto as he went to engage Danzo and his two main guards. Hinata went after the Yamanaka while Shino went after Torune. Hinata was able to quickly disable and deliver a lethal blow to the Yamanaka before turning her attention to the other ROOT agents. Most of the ROOT were forced away from their master, however, several were still next to Danzo.

Naruto engaged Danzo in taijutsu before using his blade to block a tanto directed at him. He quickly broke away before activating a seal on the back of his hand.

The ROOT were on guard for a moment before everything exploded as the chaos mine was activated. Naruto shunshined away to escape the blast.

When Naruto saw from his position that the mine had stopped, he shunshined back. He saw that the ROOT had been turned into little more than red splatters. He looked around for Danzo before seeing that the man had used the Izanagi to escape harm.

"Not a dud after all," Naruto said. "I guess I forgot to mention that I can activate them in a variety of ways, remotely being included."

Without letting Danzo respond, Naruto quickly re-engaged him in taijutsu before drawing his blade again and trying to decapitate Danzo. He was blocked as Danzo pulled out a kunai and blocked the blade. He retreated before weaving hand signs and launching a slash of air that started cutting through some of the disrupted stone. Naruto dodged.

Danzo bit his thumb before using a summoning jutsu. When the smoke cleared there was a massive summon that Naruto recognized as the Baku. As the creature began inhaling to draw him in, Naruto used his own summon on both hands before two creatures appeared behind him. The first was a massive Gamakichi. The second was a dragon whose scales and eyes were the color of sapphires that were an intense blue that refracted the light. Her talons and spikes on her neck, back, as well as tail were bone-white. She had two serrated fangs that jutted out of her upper jaw onto her bottom lip slightly, as well as white, knife-like, meat-shearing teeth. Her head was roughly triangular and she also possessed four cheek spines, slightly curved horns and forehead spines between her horns.

Naruto gave a signal before Gamakichi shot a stream of oil into the Baku's mouth, as well as over the creature. The dragon then let out a stream of white-hot flames that lit the Baku on fire. Within moments, the creature was covered in flames and screaming in pain. It was only a second later that it was gone.

Naruto turned around and gave another signal before Gamakichi disappeared and the dragon was instantly after Danzo. The man tried to dodge but was quickly caught in the dragon's mouth as she used her claws to rip his body in half.

Naruto was not surprised to see the body fade away. As his summons disappeared, he turned around in time to have Danzo grip his neck.

"Trying to put a curse mark on me Danzo? Shame. I thought you were smarter than to try and put a seal on me after the things I told you I could do. Things like this," Naruto said. Thick, black lines started wrapping around Danzo's arm as his own seal was reversed. Danzo could also tell that the seal was somehow enhanced from its previous design. It was stronger now.

Naruto saw a third eye close on the man's arm before the lines disappeared and Danzo retreated.

"So, you realized that trying to break it would have cost you more than just using the Izanagi to delete such a disadvantage from reality," Naruto said before charging in with his blade again. Danzo drew a kunai and channeled his wind nature chakra to lengthen the blade. Naruto smiled before his blade was covered in his own fire, wind, and lightning natures. His blade was quickly covered in lightning and a blaze of fire as he tore through Danzo's blade. Danzo was shocked to see the blade rip through his chest. Before the Izanagi kicked in, he was even able to smell his own flesh burning.

Danzo disappeared again. When he reappeared, Naruto instantly had him pinned to a wall by the throat.

"I've beaten you Danzo. An interesting side effect of the Izanagi is that it can be set to autopilot to make it less difficult to use. The way you have it set, your body only disappears and reappears when your body is maimed or destroyed. But if I start doing this..." Naruto said, seals flowing from his hands before Danzo could feel his chakra being drained. He also saw one of his Sharingan close before his chakra felt replenished. "...then the Sharingan will try to fix the disadvantage. But it's also a weakness."

Danzo quickly used another Sharingan to disappear and reappear away from Naruto before his chakra could be drained any more.

"That's six Danzo. You're down more than half your arm and you're already starting to lose control over your implants. Let's keep going Danzo," Naruto said, taking note that none of his friends were on the bridge any longer, though some of Danzo's ROOT had managed to find their way behind their master again to back him. Naruto sealed his sword before flying through some hand seals.

"Katon: Desolation!" Naruto shouted, letting out a stream of white-hot flames.

Danzo's ROOT agents screamed for only a second before they were wiped away. Danzo's body disappeared before reappearing behind Naruto and watched the flames that washed over the bridge. He saw that they were already melting the very stone. Danzo moved in to take Naruto down while he was still using his jutsu, but was stopped when another Naruto appeared and tried to punch through Danzo's chest. He managed to avoid it before pulling out a shuriken and using his wind chakra to turn the shuriken into much larger and sharper versions. Danzo through both and severed one of the clone's arms. The other missed, but both flew into the flames and made them grow before the shuriken themselves melted. The clone turned black before unraveling into hundreds of seals that quickly dispersed. Danzo was shocked to see the array clone of Uzu from during the past wars but quickly chalked it up to Naruto's claims about learning sealing jutsu from Uzushio. Danzo was now able to see that the original Naruto was turning around, and bringing the flames around with him.

As Naruto turned, the flames changed color and became hotter. Danzo quickly tried to move before he was engulfed in the wave of blue flames. The moment that Danzo was gone, the flames swirled and dissipated. Naruto panted slightly as he looked around and saw that the stone bridge around him was almost nonexistent at this point, some of the melted stone pouring over the sides and into the water below creating heavy clouds of steam. Naruto flew through another set of hand seals and activated a small Doton jutsu that collapsed what was left of the bridge. When he landed on the water, he turned and noticed that Danzo was nowhere to be seen.

Naruto activated the Hiraishin seal he had placed on Danzo and appeared in the forest. He saw Danzo just as he deactivated the Izanagi. The man was breathing heavily. Danzo noticed Naruto and got ready to fight again. Naruto didn't give him a chance to do anything as he rushed forward, grabbed the man's wrist and shoulder, and ripped off the man's arm.

Danzo's eyes widened in shock and pain. Naruto leaned forward and set the man down while kneeling next to him.

"Do you know why I despise you and your ROOT Danzo? Because the ROOT is just a collection of your drones, and you are a man of no hope. You have ambition, thoughts, and goals; but you have no hope. It's not that you have despair, the word is simply meaningless to you. No hope, no despair. So take note in your last moments. Your death and loss were only caused because you refused to see the truth. Under normal circumstances, I would respect how you stood in your beliefs until the end, but your beliefs were ones that tried to snuff out all others but your own. So now, die," Naruto said before pulling out his blade again and prepared to decapitate the man.

Naruto stopped as a large curse seal appeared on Danzo's body.

"All I have ever done was to protect Konoha. Even I have to die and take you down with me, I will continue towards that goal to the end."

Naruto smiled and touched the seal before ripping it apart, painfully.

"Nice try Danzo. I'm a sealing master. Remember? Only don't tell me you're innocent. Because it insults my intelligence and makes me very angry," Naruto said.

Naruto twisted his hand and pushed down as his hand and his seals ripped into the man. He enjoyed Danzo's screams. A moment later, the seals formed a black seal and ripped open the man's chest and imploded to create an empty whole that showed the ground beneath the man. Naruto removed his last two Sharingan from his dismembered arm and sealed them. He then removed the bandages over Danzo's head to look at Shisui's eye before removing it and then sealed it with the other Sharingan. Finally, Naruto sealed Danzo's body and then used the Hiraishin to get back with his team. When he appeared, he found that the rest of them had already finished off the ROOT agents and were waiting for him.

Naruto noticed that Shino had one of the ROOT thrown over his shoulder. He then realized who it was and gave Shino a small nod that was then returned. Naruto walked over and used the Hiraishin to send Torune back to Uzu with a note that he was to be kept sedated for the time being.

"Alright, Obito should be waiting for us in Iron by now. Let's go," Naruto said. He quickly created a clone and gave it orders to report Danzo's death to Tsunade. He then turned and led his team out of the clearing and towards the Land of Iron. They had a summit to attend. Naruto just hoped that the Godaime wouldn't be late.

A moment later and they were standing next to a very confused Sasuke. Obito had told him a short while ago that he had to go before disappearing in his Kamui. A few minutes later and the clones around him dispelled before their real forms landed in front of him.

"Don't ask any questions Sasuke," Naruto said. "It's all been taken care of. Now, we have a meeting to get to."

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ had sent the rest of his team ahead while he, Hinata, and Shino walked forward through the snow of the Land of Iron. Naruto knew they were being followed, but had decided to leave a small opening to see who it was. Naruto was ready to give to simply use the Hiraishin to catch up with the team when their pursuer finally made themselves known.

Naruto was surprised to see that there were actually two people there. He had not noticed the second signature.

The first was a small woman who looked no older than seventeen. She had long, dark blue hair that went down to her thighs, and with bangs that hang to just above her reddish-burgundy colored eyes. She appeared to be wearing a special seifuku with short sleeves, along with a long black scarf covering the bottom part of her face and her neck. She wore a short, blue skirt that went only a few inches past her buttocks and had two short slits which were probably to aid her in movement. She wore black color arm guards from the back of her palm until her elbows, as well as lower thigh guards. Black bandages could be seen under those guards, right below her knees and near her elbows. Her dual-wielding kodachi were tucked into 2 slots at her back, hooked by a belt-like strap. Her shirt was left unbuttoned at the bottom. She also had a katana strapped to her waist. The blade was black with a red hilt. The sword itself seemed to be almost as long as she was tall.

The second was a massive and muscular man with arms about as large as Naruto was. He wore large, black pants and wore nothing on his upper body apart from two shackles on each wrist with large chains hanging from them before coming back up and wrapping around his arms. He had a thick, dark red line going from under his arm, to his shoulder, and up his neck to a large red circle that covered his obviously scared over right eye. His hair was long, black, and in thin lines down around his head. His left eye was a solid white with no pupil or iris. He had a massive, black broadsword on his back. From tip to handle, it was approximately six feet long, with a single-edged large blade approximately one foot wide, the handguard appeared to be bolted or riveted into place, and there were two holes near the handguard where the sword could be clipped onto his back.

Naruto quickly appraised them. " You're of the immortals," he said, remembering them from Akira's report.

"That is correct," the deep, monotone voiced man said. "You are Naruto Uzumaki, an associate of the man name Roku who killed Hidan."

"Why are you all so obsessed with Hidan?" Naruto asked. "Did I anger your cult by killing a member?"

"This is so stupid," The girl said.

The man chuckled. "You seem to be under the impression that the immortal council was made of people like Hidan, a Jashinist. That is not the case. Some of them are, but others have different reasons. The council is made up of people who were already immortal."

"It was formed because we have lost passion for little other than death. Hidan was cast out of his cult because he had no restraint. We eventually cast him out for the same reasons, but we are not part of his cult," the girl said.

"Yes. It's also why we do not wield scythes. They are weapons specialized in by his cult, but our council simply wields black and red blades. For now, we are simply trying to kill the man who killed one of our members. The fact that he was able to do so at all means that he is a threat that must be dealt with," the man said

"Then I'll tell you the same thing I told the last two. Roku is dead," Naruto said.

There was a pause before the giant hummed to himself in thought. "I'm inclined to believe you. Then tell me why his chakra seems to be radiating from you."

Naruto sighed. He was surprised that this man could sense it, and had to guess that he was somehow the one he had not sensed following him. "Perhaps some other time. For now, I have a meeting to get to. I'm going to need you out of my way."

"I can't allow that to happen," The girl said, stepping forward and drawing her kodachi. "Let's end them already, Douglas."

"Alright, Shiina," the man groaned, grabbing his sword as he did so. "What a pain."

Naruto drew his own sword as they all got ready for the fight. However, he didn't expect the massive man to instantly be in front of him. His speed vastly contradicted his size. Naruto barely got out of the way as Douglas's sword came down. The ground where Naruto had stood exploded as his team moved out of the way. Naruto was surprised to see the woman at him with her dual blades. Naruto was just able to twist around and see her own slight surprise as his heel hit her face and sent her flying for only a moment before she was able to right herself. Naruto saw Hinata and Shino trying to handle the giant.

Naruto saw Hinata try to close off the man's chakra points and slow him down. It shocked them that it hadn't worked. Shino tried to consume the man with his insects but was forced to recall them when the man simply crushed them.

"Hinata, Shino, take her. I'll try to handle him," Naruto shouted. The two nodded and turned their attention to the woman as she reentered the fight.

Naruto jumped in front of the massive man before preforming a Djutsu. A massive stone spike shot up at the man, through his arm, and through his face and head. The man quickly used his other arm to reach over and crush the spike. His hand and part of his forearm fell now that the skin connecting them to the rest of the arm was not stretched out by the stone. The sheer weight caused the skin to snap and his hand to fall to the ground. The massive hole in his head quickly closed and healed over before he grabbed his arm and held it up to where it had fallen from. Small tendrils shot out and quickly reconnected the arm as it healed over.

Naruto was forced to retreat as the man picked up his sword and went to swing it at him.

"Hold still. This is such a pain. I just want to get this over with," the giant said.

Naruto quickly created two clones that charged the man. Naruto and his bunshin attached three Hiraishin seals to the giant's arms and chest. Naruto activated them, sending his arms to Uzu for study.

The man stood there a moment before tendrils shot out and reformed his arms, though his weapon was still were his original arms had gone.

"You assumed that I needed my arms back in order to regrow them. It helps with the proper reconstructions, but I'm much stronger than that," he said before trying to crush Naruto again with his fist.

Naruto activated the third seal and sent the man into the middle of Hi no Kuni before he could be put on the defensive again. _'No wonder so many of the Celestial Nights died getting that information'_ Naruto thought to himself. He turned to see the girl fighting Hinata and Shino with ease. Naruto rushed from behind her and grabbed her neck.

"Tell Ochiai that I want to meet and talk to him," Naruto said before sending her to the same place he had sent Douglas.

* * *

 _ **Tsunade**_ was standing next to Jiraiya as he was getting out of his hospital bed, finally being discharged. She turned when she felt a tap on her shoulder. The nurse standing there had a note for her that she quickly took and opened. She brought it over to Jiraiya as they both read it.

_'Tsunade, you should know that I have killed Danzo. That folder I gave you before held the location of the hidden ROOT bases. I would suggest that you take over your command and destroy ROOT as quickly as possible. Don't forget, you still have a summit to attend as well. Better hurry._

_-Naruto Uzumaki_

They both looked up in time to see the nurse's form morph into that of Naruto. He smirked at them before disappearing through the door. Tsunade ran after him but only walked into a cloud of smoke.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ , Hinata, and Shino walked up towards the small village where the summit was going to be held. As they entered they were quickly found by Itachi.

"You're late. What happened?" Itachi asked.

"We got held up by our favorite blade-wielding immortals," Naruto said. "I can fill you in on all of the details later on. We need to go see Mifune. Tell Obito to meet us near the fortress."

Itachi left as the three continued towards the samurai fortress. As they neared one of the entrances, they were quickly surrounded by samurai.

"I guess word hasn't reached here yet. Tell Mifune that the Uzukage is here," Naruto said.

"You're Naruto Uzumaki?" one of the samurai asked.

"Yes."

The samurai nodded and gave the order for the others to stand down.

At that moment, Obito appeared with a scroll in his hand.

"It took time, but I was able to gather what you requested," Obito said.

Naruto took the scroll and opened it. he examined the seals before nodding and closing the scroll again.

"Thank you. Go wait with the others. We'll be there soon after this meeting is over," Naruto said.

Obito nodded before disappearing in his Kamui again.

"Alright, let's go see Mifune," Naruto said.

* * *

 _ **A**_ week passed as Naruto waited in Iron. He and the other Kage were waiting for the Hokage.

Naruto had been there in secret with the small team he had brought. The only ones who knew he was there were his allies and Mifune. Naruto had been able to convince the man to allow him to stay there and attend the summit. Mifune had agreed once it was revealed that Naruto was there to represent Uzu as its Kage. It had been more difficult, but he was also able to convince Mifune to allow his team to stay.

That was when Tsunade finally showed up. Naruto had stayed out of sighed while listening to everything that had happened.

When Tsunade had received news of Danzo's death, she had been both elated and disturbed. She had opened the folder that Naruto had had in the seals on Jiraiya and found that they were locations of Danzo's ROOT hideouts like Naruto had said. She had quickly acted to destroy them and regain control of Konoha. She hadn't wanted to, but she had to thank Naruto for finally getting rid of the old war hawk. It was quickly over before Tsunade organized everything to leave.

Another development was that Jiraiya had finally recovered and was ready to go on missions again. Tsunade had had him and Kakashi accompany her to Iron for the summit.

She had gotten some complaints about being late, but had been able to move on and start the meeting.

The five Kage walked into the meeting room. "You're looking a bit old Tsunade. Maybe you should think of retiring," Onoki, whose guards were Kurotsuchi and Roshi, commented. Roshi had been in trouble for letting Han leave, but when news of the summit came, Onoki had still chosen to take him as a guard.

"You have no right to talk, Onoki," a new voice said. "Considering that you're the only one in this room that has ever encountered Madara Uchiha in the flesh. Actually, you were the only one here alive at the time he was."

The Raikage, Tsuchikage, and Hokage were surprised to notice a man wearing a black cloak, his face covered by the shadows from his hood, already sitting in the room. He sat in a seventh chair, the sixth being for Mifune. The other thing that caught their attention was that his two guards wore the same black cloak. They all sat down quickly before A, whose bodyguards were Darui and Killer B, asked what was on some of their minds.

"Who is our sixth member of this meeting?" A asked.

Naruto stood up from his chair. "I can answer that question for you."

Tsunade's eyes widened. She knew who this was just from his voice.

Naruto pulled back his hood and removed his black cloak to reveal his Uzukage cloak. He pulled out the traditional Kage hat, which had the kanji for Uzu and was white and Orange, and sat it on the table in front of him. "I am Naruto Namikaze Uzumaki, Shodaime Uzukage, and the leader of Uzushiogakure."

The people in the room were silent for a moment as A and Onoki thought about his words for a moment. Tsunade was trying not to panic.

That was when Onoki burst out laughing. "You expect us to believe that some brat like you was able to open the barrier of Uzu, become the Kage of a Kegeless village, and are the son of Minato Namikaze by the name you gave? You're too young to have any merit or be believed. And even if you did have the title of Kage, you're too young and immature."

Naruto's face was dead serious. "If you think I'm lying, ask the Kazekage, Mizukage, and Hokage. They can confirm my words. As can the Hokage," He said.

The other Kage looked at him in confusion before one of his guards removed their cloak. Their looks turned into ones of absolute shock. "I've had plenty of time to resurrect Uzu since I was betrayed by Konoha. As for making you believe I'm the son of Minato Namikaze, even the current Hokage refuses to believe such a fact. So, let's start this meeting of Kage by revealing the truth from the horse's mouth."

He gestured to the Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, standing next to him. He was in his battle armor.

"It's amazing what one can do when they possess the original notes of the Second Hokage. A dead man can walk the earth once again. Now then, why don't you finally settle their minds, Hiruzen," Naruto said.

Hiruzen sighed. "Then will you release me from this cursed jutsu?"

"Of course. Now you will fix the mistake you made."

Hiruzen sighed again. "Tsunade, Jiraiya, and everyone else. Naruto Uzumaki is the son of the Yondaime, Minato Namikaze. I kept that secret because I didn't want Minato's enemies coming after him. And I kept it from you two," he said, pointing at his two students, "because you were in positions where I wan unsure if you could keep the secret. Tsunade, you were almost always drunk and grieving. I had no way of knowing if you could be trusted with such sensitive information. Jiraiya, women don't exactly have a hard time getting to you."

The two Sannin were stunned for a moment before Jiraiya shouted. "How do we know you aren't making him say these things?"

"You've gone over the notes, Jiraiya," Hiruzen said. " He can't control my speech unless keeping me silent. And he can't control me directly without it being obvious."

"That is correct. Now, you can go," Naruto said before a coffin came out of the ground, took him, and disappeared.

Naruto had a thoughtful look on his face before speaking again. "Now I'm down a guard. I think he should be replaced."

Naruto quickly formed hand seals before clapping his hands together. A, Onoki, Tsunade, their guards, and Mifune were instantly uneasy. Mifune had allowed Naruto to be a part of the meeting but was still unsure about him. Tsunade was terrified at seeing the technique that Orochimaru had used, as a coffin rose from the ground next to Naruto.

The coffin opened before Minato Namikaze stepped out and stood there. Only a split second passed before he opened his eyes and looked around.

"What's going on? Where am I?" Minato asked.

"You died, remember?"

Minato turned around and looked at Naruto. "What are-" he got out before realization dawned on him. "N-Naruto?"

"Yes. I used the Edo Tensei to bring you and Hiruzen back, though the later is not here at the moment."

"That's not possible. the sealing jutsu I used-"

"I took the Uzumaki mask temple when I left Konoha. Many don't know it, but in that temple rests the mask of the Shinigami. This mask can be used to free souls from his belly. It's how I was able to bring you and Hiruzen back. Now, let's get back to the meeting. I'll explain everything to you later, let's get to work on the true purpose of this meeting. We are at a Kage summit, so please remain silent for now."

"Wait, just because you are the Yondaime's son does not mean that you truly have accessed Uzu," A said.

Naruto sighed before pulling out a kunai. He didn't hesitate before stabbing the blade into his neck and twisting. The blade dug into his flesh before his entire body turned into a black mass. The mass began to unravel before it became a cloud of floating sealing arrays. The arrays dissipated quickly.

"The Array Bunshin of the Uzumaki. So complicated and difficult to form, not even all of the Uzumaki could do it. It is more durable than any clone ever created due to the fact that it combines the massive chakra usage of Kage bunshin with the far greater durability of a blood clone and wraps it in a layer of seals that are far more complicated than any of you could ever hope to attempt. The only records for how to perform the jutsu are in Uzu. Is that proof enough for you?" The real Naruto asked, stepping from a shadowed corner. He walked back over to his chair and sat down again.

"Now, as for the accusation of immaturity, I'm not the one who..." Naruto said before turning to Gaara. "Gaara, how did you pose the question again?"

"I was wondering," Gaara said, turning to Onoki, "at which point did you all forsake yourselves?"

"That's it. Now, as I was saying, I'm not the one you compromised and gave into their petty fear. I'm not the one who destroyed Uzu and the Uzumaki clan because I was so foolish as to think that it was smart. You destroyed Uzu because you were afraid, nothing more. I find it amazing how much fear such a small country can inspire. Enough, apparently, to bring down the wrath of the Elemental Nations. On the other hand, I have valid reasons for my actions. I'm the type of person that organizes meetings and downfalls to get the snakes and deceitful war hawks out in the open so that I can behead them. I'm the type of person that will set up this summit to offer my hand to the Raikage, Tsuchikage, and Hokage to join me. And, I'm the type of person that comes bearing gifts, even if they are for the people who betrayed me," Naruto said. He pulled out two scrolls and unfurled them on the table. Orochimaru's and Danzo's bodies appeared, though Danzo's was missing its arm and his head was separated from the rest of the body. "I give you all two people who have been thorns in the sides of everyone in this room."

"You killed Orochimaru?" Jiraiya asked.

"I'm sorry for your loss? Is that what you want?" Naruto asked. "I present you with the body of Orochimaru, The Great White Snake. What more do you want? Look, I'm only here for two reasons. The first is a phrase that all but the Mizukage, Kazekage, and anyone who joins me should fear. I'm recreating the Orb Union."

A was up instantly, pounding his fist through the table. "The whole reason anyone was afraid enough to destroy Uzu and was able to convince the Hokage to go along with it was because of the attempted formation of that Union!"

"You will be silent. Do not think that threats will work on me now," Naruto said. "Kaze no Kuni and Mizu no Kuni are already part of Orb. And Uzu itself is already stronger than anyone could imagine."

Everyone was silent.

"Allow me to shed some light on the subject," Naruto said, pulling out a massive scroll. He stood up, walked into the area in the middle of the room, and unfurled the scroll. The projection of the Elemental Nations appeared with the colored borders. "Last time, you knew about the Orb Union forming. I gave no one such a luxury this time apart from those who are already its members. I give you the current state of Orb. The red outlines are member nations and the blue outlines are allied nations."

Naruto enjoyed their shocked appearances.

"T-that's impossible," Jiraiya stuttered.

"No, it is not," Naruto said. "The Whirling Tides have grown. They have come seeking the blood of enemies. So let me ask you all this. Which of you are my enemies?"

"You bastard. You're just threatening us. You're trying to intimidate us so that we will follow you," Kakashi said.

Naruto turned to Kakashi. "You should learn when to say nothing Kakashi Hatake. Since you are now part of this conversation, let me show you that other reason I was talking about, the other reason I'm here. It is another impossibility," he said. "I have a gift for you too, Kakashi. You can remove your hood now."

The second guard behind Naruto removed his hood. It took Kakashi a moment before his revealed eye widened.

"Hello, Kakashi. It has been a while. Like a gaze from a crowd of strangers suddenly one is aware of staring into the face of an old friend," Obito said, Staring into Kakashi's eyes as they flash with sadness, shock, anger, shock, elation, and shock. "Well then. Short version. Not dead. I realize that it's somewhat cruel, springing it on you like that. I could have given you a heart attack, and probably still will. In my defense, your face looks very funny," There was a pause. "Okay, it's not a great defense."

Jiraiya finally realized who it was as well. "Oh no, you're-"

"Oh yes," Obito said.

"You died. You were crushed!" Jiraiya said.

"No."

"You're dead."

"No, I'm quite sure I'm not. I checked. Okay, Kakashi, I'm suddenly realizing I might owe you some sort of an apology.

Kakashi finally spoke. "All these years-" he paused, trying to compose himself. "All these years. I thought... I thought... you were dead. And you let me believe that? How could you do that? How? How could you do that to me and Rin?!"

Obito sighed. "As many things need explaining, I think the first important thing I should say, is that I want my eye back," he said.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uploading both chapters 17, 18, and 19 today to help catch up with what I have published on Wattpad. Putting this note on all three just in case.

_**"W-what**_ do you mean you want your-"

"It's exactly as it sounds, Kakashi," Obito responded to his old friend.

"Obito, I have politics to talk. If you have to settle it now, then settle this matter in Kamui. And take her with you," Naruto said, tossing Obito a scroll.

Obito nodded. He was instantly next to Kakashi before they disappeared into the alternate dimension of Kamui.

"Now that those two are gone, we have things to discuss," Naruto said.

"Wait a moment, you can't just get rid of one of my guards!" Tsunade shouted.

"One of my guards are gone as well, and they will not be replaced. You will accept it," Naruto replied.

"Even I will agree that you are crossing lines and rules that should not be crossed," Onoki said.

"I can replace my guards with an army of zombies any time I please. Tsunade had me tortured because she was afraid her ally would turn against her. You and other Kage have destroyed entire nations because of your _fear_. You and the Raikage and others _slaughtered_ my clan because. Of. Your. _FEAR!_ I suggest you not tell me about lines or how and when not to cross them...Lord Tsuchikage," Naruto replied, venom in is his voice.

Even the Raikage was hesitant after hearing this. However, he spoke up when he composed himself.

"I myself was hesitant to attack the Uzumaki, both for fear and for respect. However, they were rising up a new power that would have challenged all of the nations. The fact of the matter is that they were partial to Konoha, even with their claims that they were no longer allies. Their presence shifted the balance of power."

"And the many wars waged throughout the wars have never shifted balance?"

"Enough!" Mifune said. "This meeting is for politics, not petty squabbling."

"That is correct," Naruto said. "So let me get back to my point."

"No. You will bring back her guard and your own. Those are the rules," Mifune interjected again.

"The rules are irrelevant. Regardless of what I do now, they can't be brought back for the moment."

"Bullshit!" Tsunade shouted. "You have the Hiraishin! You expect me to believe that you don't have markers on your guards?!"

"Who ever said that they work in another dimension? The reason I said that they needed to settle matters in Kamui is that Kamui is in a pocket dimension. Obito is granted access to it via his Mangekyo Sharingan. The Hiraishin might have a massive range, but not massive enough to reach into a different dimension."

The rest of them were stunned by this information.

"Now, we have things to get to," Naruto said.

"Mifune. I would like to ask that we call a recess until our guards are back." Tsunade said, "I would also like you to demand that when we are back in session, he have two mortal guards."

"Agreed. We shall take the requested recess, and when it is over, you will no longer have a reanimated corpse as your guard," Mifune said.

"Of course. Simply send a messenger for me when you are ready. I will be at the room I am staying in," Naruto said before rolling up the map scroll and sealing it into his arm. He resealed the two bodies before walking to the door, Minato disappearing in his coffin as he did so. Once he had exited the room, Tsunade stopped him.

"Why are you doing all of this?"

"Are you asking why I killed Sakura, had Kakashi confronted by Obito, and basically everything else? You betrayed me Tsunade. You and Jiraiya. I was ready to be the protector of your village, but instead, you let your fear guild you. You turned me into an enemy. Then, you tried to bring me back after I escaped my execution. It took me binging back two Kage from the dead for you to believe that I was Minato's son. I killed Danzo and Orochimaru, two people you have wanted dead for a long time. I had ulterior motives, sure, but it did help you. I kept Jiraiya alive and gave him back to you. Not only that, but I'm the only person who can kill him. Even after you betrayed me, I have done things to help you."

"You killed my apprentice. She was the closest thing I had to-"

"To what? A daughter? Family? Killing her and everything regarding the Hyuuga and Aburame was how I was able to force Danzo's hand. It was too good an opportunity for him to pass up. Now you will have less resistance from other people, especially any council members he was influencing. And I want you to think back. Were there ever any times that you did something that you don't think fit? Any memories that didn't belong?" He said, seeing her thinking back before realizing what he meant. "Do you remember Shisui Uchiha? Few knew about it, or the full extent of his power, but his Mangekyo Sharingan allowed him to alter the memories of people. Yes, he could even make you _know_ that your grandfather was not Hashirama Senju, but was in _fact_ Madara Uchiha. He could even supply you with reasons on why you didn't have the genetics or physical features of an Uchiha, as well as why you had no Sharingan. He could create every detail needed to make sure nothing was inconsistent. Would you like to know who ripped one of his Sharingan out of its socket shortly before he died? He was ambushed by Danzo who took one eye before Shisui escaped. Shisui later gave his other eye to Itachi before coming suicide. Danzo was able to take the eye because he had been conspiring with Orochimaru. The later of the two had grafted Sharingan onto the former's arm, as well as your grandfather's cells onto his shoulder. This gave him access to a jutsu that, in short, allows the user to alter reality. I will explain later, but it is also how Madara Uchiha brought himself back from the dead weeks after Hashirama killed him. So, yes I have done things that have hurt you, but those things have helped you in the end. So stop getting angry at me. You started this Tsunade. You will forgive me if I finish it."

Tsunade and Jiraiya were stunned.

"You truly are a foolish, brat," Onoki said, walking up with his guards. A was behind him with his own guards.

"As are you, old man," Naruto said. He looked at B and Roshi. "Roshi, forgive me for the punishment you endured after I took Han from your village."

"Yes, I would like to discuss that with you when the meeting starts again," Onoki said with barely held rage.

"Can it old man," Naruto said before returning his focus to Roshi. "Tell me Roshi. You can control some of your biju's chakra, but you can't fully control it. Not only that, but you probably don't even know his name, do you?"

Roshi was shocked to hear these words.

"However, you have, B. I want to talk to you two soon, Roshi and B. Tomorrow should be good." He then disappeared in a Hiraishin.

* * *

 _ **"Obito!**_ How are you alive?!" Kakashi shouted.

"Would you really like to know? Fine. But first..." Obito said, trailing off.

Obito held the scroll Naruto had given him. He quickly unfurled it to reveal several sealing arrays. He placed his hand on one of the seals before a burst of smoke enveloped where he stood.

As the smoke cleared, Kakashi's eye widened.

The smoke cleared to reveal Rin standing there, looking no different than the day she had died. She was slightly hunched over, but quickly straightened her stance and opened her eyes.

"What...is going on?" she asked, looking around. Her face became one of shock when she saw Obito and Kakashi, as well as remembering that she had died.

"It is finally time for you two to know the truth about Madara Uchiha and the role he played in our lives," Obito said.

* * *

 _ **"So**_ that's how it happened," Rin said.

"Yes." Obito said.

"Obito. I can understand why you have done all that you have, but why join Naruto? Once you learned the truth, why didn't you come back?" Kakashi asked.

"Because it was Naruto who pulled me from the darkness."

"Naruto is evil! He is trying to destroy Konoha!"

"Even if that were true, how would you defeat an evil that you cannot destroy by just means? Do you stain your hands with evil to destroy evil? Or do you remain steadfastly just and righteous even if it means surrendering to evil? Don't you see? Even if Naruto wanted to destroy the world entirely, I would still follow him until he comes to the point that he tries to destroy it. Do you know why? Because his goal is to destroy the corruption in this world to create true and lasting peace. I would stain my hands with the blood of millions if it finally creates this ideal world," Obito said. He gave a small chuckle. "I guess I already have. When I acted as Madara, I killed many people for the sake of the plan. There was one thing I forgot to tell you as well. A part of the story that I left out. It was me who released the Kyuubi and forced it to attack Konoha. I was the one responsible for our sensei's death."

"What did you say?" Kakashi asked in disbelief.

"Exactly as you heard." Obito said "He doesn't like it, but he has allowed me to offer it to you. I would like you to come back to Uzu with me."

"Why should anyone go with you?! Why should anyone join Naruto?!" Kakashi interrupted.

Obito turned back to Kakashi. "We wouldn't even be having this conversation if you hadn't abandoned him. You only cared that he had the Kyuubi. You didn't care that he was on your team. You once said that those who abandon their teammates are worse than trash, but it was you who stood there and watched with hatred at his execution."

Kakashi had no response.

"Regardless of what you choose, Rin there is something important to settle right now. I need you to transplant my eye again."

* * *

 _ **Obito**_ landed behind Naruto, the latter of which was working over a table with different equipment on it.

"How did things go?" Naruto asked.

"Kakashi is back with Tsunade. I gave him the other eye as a parting gift." Obito said.

"Tell me truthfully Obito, do you want to save Kakashi? If you want, he will be left alive." Naruto said, not looking up.

"As foolish as he has been, he was once my friend. If you could make sure that he survives, that would be appreciated."

"I'll leave it up to you then. From now on, facing Kakashi Hatake in battle is your responsibility at any point that you are available. If you are not available, then I can only tell you that he will be spared if possible." Naruto then looked up. "Are you ready to evolve your eyes?"

"Actually, that was something I wanted to talk to you about. The eye I got back from Kakashi evolved when it was given back to me."

Naruto nodded. "I will take a look at it when working on everything else." He then bent back over a large magnifying glass, several sets of eyes under the glass. In his hands were small tools that he was using to prod the eyes.

"There was one more thing. They wanted me to notify you that you have one hour before the meeting starts," Obito said. "What of Sasuke?"

"He has returned to his own people. Now, let's begin the procedure."

Obito nodded before he went over to a small table a laid down on it.

A Naruto clone walked over before undoing the bandages over Obito's left eye.

Obito activated his Sharingan in both eyes before the clone extracted both. The clone then took the eyes over to Naruto who started to examine the already mutated eye.

"It would seem that the eye mutated off your own genetic code. That is...interesting." Naruto said before prodding further. "Now that is particularly interesting. Your eye no longer has its primary or secondary layer. Only it's third."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll explain in a moment," Naruto said before he continued working.

Nearly half an hour passed as they sat in silence.

"Tell me how this works exactly," Obito said, his eyes now covered in bandages.

"We have tried transplanting your eyes into Itachi already. It should come as no surprise that it didn't work. Then there was what happened when your left eye was reinserted into your eye. It evolved somehow. It probably had something to do with you not being the eye's host when it evolved into its Mangekyo form. I still don't know how it evolved in Kakashi anyways. It probably had something to do with the connection between the two eyes when you got into close proximity. Hopefully I can make your other eye evolve, it should help."

"You still haven't explained how the process works."

"I find it amazing that the Uchiha always had such faith in their eyes that they never tried to research its mechanisms. Anyways. When the Sharingan first manifests, it develops a secondary iris under the original. As the Sharingan matures, so does the secondary iris. When active, the secondary iris projects itself over the primary one. The reason that when the Mangekyo form develops you can still use the normal form is because a third iris forms. The third follows the same patters as the second. The Eternal Mangekyo forms when the genetics of the new host interact with the donor's eyes to, basically, hijack the third iris and mutate it. The mutated version becomes complete, thus removing the defects of rapid aging from use. However, if the eye is never transplanted into a viable Uchiha host and properly connect after being removed, the eye is unable to complete a connection to the brain. This stops the new user from controlling chakra input and usage when the second or third iris is active or being able to shift between irises again. This is why the eye has to be covered and why it uses up so much chakra. It is also the reason why Shisui's Kotoamatsukami takes so long to use again when it is transplanted. The eye is under too much pressure to use it very often. Danzo could use it once in a day, but only because of the Sunju cells to promote regeneration in the eye. And, because the connection can still fail when the eye is implanted into an Uchiha, that is why your mask has always had to cover your left eye that you implanted. That is, until I gave you that special contact lens. However, I have been studying the eye long enough to find a way to force automatic connections by stimulating certain nerves. I can also bypass the need for a viable Uchiha to complete the connection entirely." Naruto said. He took a needle and poked it into one of the eyes before pulling back on the plunger of the syringe. "All I have to do is transplant an iris into a non-Uchiha eye." He paused, holding up the syringe to the light. Inside was a red semi-liquid with a black, partly coherent, four-pointed pinwheel. He then bent back down to the table to continue working. "Though, there are certain characteristics of the new host eye that need to be met or the new iris and the receiving eye will start to break down. But, I can also put the iris in the eye of another Uchiha. If it is inserted into an eye without the Mangekyo and it works, then the transplanted iris will mutate but has nothing to mutate in return. In order to evolve, if it does at all, it completely absorbs the secondary iris of the new host eye."

"Is that what you meant when you said that my eye no longer had its secondary?"

"Yes. Your eye absorbed its own primary and secondary iris to mutate the tertiary. It's one of the most interesting things I have ever seen. It consumed a part of itself to evolve. And now your left Eternal Mangekyo is literally eternal. It can't be deactivated. Or rather, if it can, it would have no Iris. No iris, no opening for the light. No light, no sight. In short, you'll be blind. But because you're an Uchiha and can regulate chakra flow to your eye, you could actually keep it activated for the rest of your life without any negative side effects. Now, as I was saying about the mechanics of the Sharingan. If the receiving eye _does_ have the Mangekyo, however, the donor iris will rest under the third while both pass information between each other. They will both mutate and allow the fourth to be removed and inserted into another eye. Of course, that is assuming that they don't start to deteriorate. Now, back to the point, I made before about putting the iris into the eye of a non-Uchiha. The process has a high chance of destroying the receiving eye and the iris. However, if it works, this allows for the eye to be transplanted at will into any host without needing to worry about the proper connections needing to form. No, scratch that. There is still a need for the proper connections to form, but the probability for it to work is nearly one hundred percent now that the connection no longer requires that the eye be implanted into an Uchiha."

"I thought you said it had a high chance of failing." Obito said.

"I said it had a high chance of destroying the eye and iris if they did not transition properly. However, especially because of the fact that I can stimulate certain nerves within the eyes and force it, a proper connection to the brain is almost guaranteed."

Naruto continued to work in silence for a moment before sitting up.

"Obito, would you like to have your eyes now?" Naruto said, holding up Obito's other eye.

"It was a success then?"

"Yes. Your eyes and Shisui's are both in there EMS states." Naruto said. One of Naruto's clones walked over, took the eye that Naruto handed to it, and walked over to Obito. He undid the bandages over Obito's eyes. He took a few moments to insert connect the optic nerves within the socket before pushing the eyes in and pulling the eyelids into place. He then wrapped the bandages back around Obito's eyes.

"How are the others coming along?" Obito asked.

Naruto stood up and turned around. There was medical tape keeping a patch of gauss over his hollow right eye. "Everything is going perfectly." He said with a dark smirk as he held up his own right eye in his hand.

A figure appeared next to him a moment later. It was an ANBU from Uzu with a mask similar to what Obito used to wear. The largest difference was that the swirls originated from both of the eye holes in a complex and overlapping pattern over the black mask. He wore a mask of Naruto's personal warriors. They were not the best of all units, as Naruto had them remain to complete missions, but they were hand-picked by Naruto. They were some of the few that Naruto had given Hirashin kunai to. He had not taught them the jutsu, but he had taught them how to activate his modified seals. The kunai he had given them, however, were locked onto two locations. One was the Uzukage tower, the other being Naruto himself

"Sakura Haruno has a report for you, Lord Uzukage. She said that she finally had results," the ANBU said.

"Good," Naruto said, placing the eye in a solution before turning to Itachi, who was sitting in the corner. "You can dispel now. The real you can create another clone if there is need."

Itachi nodded before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Naruto disappeared next in his Hiraishin. He landed in a lab.

Itachi was laying down on a table with Sakura next to him, her hands glowing green. She looked up at him.

"Lord Uzukage, I finally have results," Sakura said. She was wearing a white lab coat and a concerned face over his eye.

"Finally? I'm surprised that there are results already," Naruto responded. "What have you found?"

Sakura mover her attention to some papers that she took out before she showed him the diagrams and scans on them. "We found out what's killing him. The team you had on this was already close. I just used the data they already had to help work it out. Most of it was already done," she said before showing and explaining everything they had found.

Naruto nodded. "This is going to be the part where you come in. The other surgeons on the team are great, but you have had better training in that field." He said. "And the other subject?"

"From what we can tell, whatever was killing him was some sort of fungus, parasite, or virus that died shortly after he did. Now that it is gone from his body, he no longer has it. He's fine."

"Alright. How long will it take to get Itachi back on his feet, and would there be any lasting effects?"

"He should be fine in a few days considering the bacta tanks. Other than that, while he might have a nasty scar, he should be fine."

"Good," Naruto said, pulling out a letter from his coat. "Get that to the Nidaime."

"Yes sir." Sakura said, taking the letter.

Naruto was gone a moment later.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ was the last person to enter the Kage summit room, Hinata and Shino flanking him. Though he was the last to enter, it was seen that everyone else was only just sitting down. Naruto took note that Kakashi was now replaced with Sasuke, the former most likely still recovering from the eye transplant like Obito was.

Naruto then noticed that Gaara had more than just his gourd. There were large, and obviously heavy, canisters at his hips, three on each hip. They were on the same belt to keep them up, but they were separated to keep them from hindering any movement. The front one on his right had a white band near a closed opening at the top. The middle one on the right had a band of what looked like aluminum near its opening. The last of the right side had a band of silvery grey. The first one on the left had a blueish-grey band. The next one had a faded yellow band. The last one had a gold band.

Naruto walked over to the Kazekage. "Because you have those, I take it you've mastered the technique you've been working on."

Gaara nodded. "Finally finding the Yondaime Kazekage's scrolls has helped me with my work on unlocking the Jiton. Finding the elements needed, refining them, and then mastering my use with them was much harder than originally anticipated, but my work has paid off in the end."

"Are you building up deposits in case of emergency?"

"As we speak." Gaara said, pointing down.

"Are you ready to call the council now? Those tools should help."

"Yes they should. I agree. Call it after today's meeting before we head home. But, could you try to do it without starting a war? I would like some warning."

"Of course. You and I both know that Orb is powerful, but war will still bring casualties. To both sides. No amount of training will prevent that. Hopefully we can at least recruit on more or bully another one into joining in order to minimize casualties. But we won't be leaving before tomorrow."

"What do you mean?"

"Sasuke is going to ask me to explain everything to these Kage. This meeting is getting old fast, but we won't get the politics done until later. Get ready my friend. The next few days will define everything."

Naruto then moved into the center of the room while his team moved over to his seat. He pulled out the map scroll from before, unfurled it, and activated the seals.

All of the Kage sat down, and, as the map appeared, Sasuke made a noise to bring attention to him.

"I know that most of the information has been summed up to me, but I think that before any politics are discussed, the Uzukage should explain everything he has yet to tell us. But this time, it should be done in detail" Sasuke said.

"I assume that you mean the things about the Uzumaki clan, the Sage of Six Paths, Kaguya, Madara, and everything else leading up to this point," Naruto said.

Sasuke nodded.

"Fine. Then you should all listen very carefully as I do not wish to repeat it again." Naruto said. "This information is some that I have explained to many people, and yet few know. Now then, it is time for the whole world to truly know what the past holds. This all began when Kaguya Otstustuki ate a fruit."

It took a few hours for Naruto to finish going through every detail. He explained the time that Kaguya lived in, how she came to be the first human to use chakra, how she eventually gave birth to the Sage of Six paths and his brother. He then explained how she slowly slipped into madness before merging with the Shinju Tree and becoming the Juubi. He explained how the Juubi was eventually split between its body and it's chakra, how the body was sealed within the moon while the chakra was sealed within the Sage to make him the first jinchuriki, and how the Sage split the Juubi into the nine Biju. He then proceeded to explain the Sage's sons, how they and their clans were manipulated by Black Zetsu, what the Black and White Zetsu are, and how the Uzumaki were eventually created. He explained everything that happened up until the Uzumaki were destroyed, the story behind Madara and Hashirama, what happened between Madara and Hashirama during their last battle, and how Black Zetsu had forced Madara's body to activate the Izanagi. He explained how Madara had survived, how he had manipulated Obito, everything involving the Akatsuki, and how the members of said organization had been manipulated. However, he had left out the details about recruiting most of the members. He did, however, tell the details on how he had confronted the Akatsuki.

"Are you telling me they survived?" Jiraiya asked.

"I believe I just explained those details. Yes, they are alive. Yes, you thought they died. Yes, they created the Akatsuki. And yes, they did everything I said. Oh, and just for clarification, I was the one who helped them. Now shut up. I have other things to explain."

He then told about how Obito had been behind the Kyuubi attack, the Uchiha massacre, almost everything involving himself, and the rebuilding of Uzu. Though, he had left out many details. Those details included the many jinchuriki in Uzu, the technology that had been developed, and some of the experimentation and secret projects that he had been working on. He had also explained the things that Danzo had done, everything involving Phase Four, and how he had dealt with Danzo. Though, he had left out the part about Sakura being alive. Finally, he had even explained everything involving Roku and the other Uzumaki that had been discovered.

By the time everything had been explained, it was getting late.

"Now then," Naruto said. "I believe that it is getting late. As much as I wanted to finish the politics of this meeting today, I believe that another break should be held until tomorrow."

Naruto looked at the others who started nodding in agreement.

"Wait," Sasuke said. "I have yet to tell Tsunade about _her_ being alive. Why don't you?"

"Because there is no reason to," Naruto responded.

"Tell her now, or I will."

Naruto was silent a moment before he sighed. "Alright, and I will tell her. But I will do it tomorrow. By that point, I can bring her here with me."

"You told me it would take weeks."

"I lied. She was awake when we left."

"What did you say?"

"What the hell is going on?!" Tsunade shouted.

"I will tell you tomorrow when the meeting in re-converged," Naruto said.

"What do you mean you had her awake when we left?" Sasuke asked.

"Exactly as I said. However, it served a purpose. For years, Itachi has been slowly dying of a disease. Guess who I put on the team to help with that little problem. If I didn't need her, you could have her back right now. However, she is currently working on Itachi with surgical tools. I only need her medical prowess in the surgical field. Once the procedure is done and I have your brother in a bacta tank, I honestly don't care what happens to her."

Sasuke's face darkened slightly. "Sometimes, you can be a cold bastard. You know that?"

"Of course I know it. I would never have made it this far without accepting that, sometimes, people need to freeze their harts to protect those that can warm them again. Now then, I want everyone to think about the history that I have told you. Tomorrow, you will not be learning history. You will be making it."

A moment later, Naruto and his team disappeared in the Uzu Shunshin.

"Who were you two talking about?" Tsunade asked.

"It doesn't matter. Even if he doesn't reveal the truth tomorrow, I can do it."

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ appeared in a clearing with B and Roshi. Both of the later were instantly in their respective stances.

"Calm down. I'm calling a council of the jinchuriki." Naruto said. He then disappeared in a Hiraishin again.

He quickly reappeared with Fuu at his side. A moment later, he did so again with Gaara.

When Naruto appeared again, he was in another clearing. He walked over to a small cabin before walking around it. He saw a lake there with a dock. Naruto walked up behind Han who was at the end of the dock.

Han no longer had his armor on, preferring to wear a red kimono. He was sitting there, a fishing pole in his hand.

"Are you ready?" Naruto asked.

"Yes." Han responded. He pulled in his fishing pole, a large fish on the end of it. He brought the fish closer before putting it in a basket. He stood up before turning to Naruto, a small smile on his uncovered face.

Naruto placed his hand on Han's shoulder before they appeared in front of Utakata's home.

A few minutes later and Naruto appeared with Han, Yugito, Yagura, and Utakata in the clearing he had left the other four.

"For the first time in a long time, the nine jinchuriki are in the same place at the same time. So, are you ready to listen to my words, Roshi and B?" Naruto said.

The two relaxed and nodded. All nine sat down in a circle before Naruto closed his eyes.

"Kurama, I think it is finally time," Naruto said.

" **Fine."**

Naruto opened his eyes.

"It's time." He said.

The other Jinchuriki nodded before clasping their hands. They were sitting in a circle before they all closed their eyes. When they opened them again, they were in a melded environment.

It was a massive super-structure with nine massive sections. In one area was Naruto's mindscape, the cage and Kyuubi behind where he was standing. Next to his was, what appeared to be, a section of a raccoon burrow made of dark yellow sand. There was a hazy grey barrier holding back Shukaku. Yugito's was a massive field of grass that was only able to still have an open sky and localized, calm breeze because this was a meld of mindscapes. Behind. Matatabi was laying down. Yagura's had taken the form of a serene forest. There were even constructs of small creatures such as birds and squirrels. Even the chirping of insects could be heard. Yagura was sitting on a branch with his legs crossed. Behind him was a clearing with a calm pond. The calm wasn't even disturbed by Isobu half-submerged within it. There was a ring of sealing arrays around the pond. Roshi's took the form of the bottom of a massive canyon. Roshi himself sat on top of a rock while Son Goku was caged within a hollow area of the canyon wall. Han's looked similar to Yagura's, but it was clear by the small cabin and dock that his mindscape was constructed to take the form of his home. Kokuo was laying down near the pond, a large, chainless shackle around his front right leg. There was a sealing array on the shackle. Utakata's took the form of a cluster of islands in the middle of the ocean. The largest island had two inhabitants. Utakata was one, Saiken the other. There was a small, makeshift cabin for Utakata, while there was a cave for Saiken to sleep if he so desired. Saiken and Utakata were both sitting on the beach of their island. Fuu's took the form of a massive, one-hundred-fifty meter tree in the middle of a misty forest. She was standing on top of one of the highest branches. Chomei in a whole in the side of the tree with small branches and vines covering the hole in a grid pattern. It could be seen, however, that Chomei had access to the rest of the tree's interior. Killer B was sitting on Gyuki's head, between the horns, as they both sat before a large waterfall.

Naruto looked at them. "Am I the only one that has not changed the manifestation of my own mind? Fine."

He turned around before flashing his arms out. Everything disappeared before a large beach formed. It was early evening, a perpetual sunset barely a sliver on the horizon with light clouds in the sky. There was a large cliff nearby. Naruto walked over to the side of the cliff to find a massive cave with bars at its mouth.

" **You are finally ready to take full control of my power? It's about time Kit."**

Naruto smiled as he stood before the massive cage.

He then turned around and walked into the solid black marble at the center of the mindscapes. The others joined him.

"Shukaku is still banging on his seal a few times a day. We aren't on speaking terms." Gaara said.

"Matatabi and I are on good terms. We have already bonded, much like B and Gyuki." Yugito said.

"Since we were both trapped in a genjutsu almost all of our time together, Isobu and I have come to speaking terms. However, he still won't give me control of his chakra." Yagura said.

"Based on everything that is being said, I assume we are talking about the state of our relationship to our Biju. He and I are simply not on talking terms." Roshi said.

"Kokuo still has slight resentment but has decided to give me a chance because we have both suffered over the years. He will not fight." Han said.

"Saiken and I are also on good terms and have already bonded as well," Utakata said.

"I can use his chakra, but he has put up a fight on the matter," Fuu said. "He has taken pity on me for the torture that Taki put me through, but not enough to let me control his power without struggling to do so."

"Me and Gyuki are top rate, yeah," B said.

"And I just need to deal with a stubborn fuzzball.

"Then it is time. B, Yugito, and Utakata. Help Roshi, Yagura, and Fuu. I can handle mine. Han won't have any trouble. And Gaara has asked me to let him handle Shukaku. Let's go."

"No. I will handle mine," Roshi said. "I want to handle it myself."

"Alright. B, Yugito, and Utakata, standby to see if anyone needs your help."

They nodded before the others went back to their individual seals.

Naruto stood there and smiled. "It's time."

Water rushed up from the beach before swirling around his legs and carrying him up to where the seal rested. He placed his hands over the seal before the paper melted off. He pulled up his shirt and made his seal appear before the key appeared on his arm and stomach. He unlocked the seal.

The metal lock retracted before the cage flew open.

Gaara twisted his arm and slashed it through the air. The grey wall disappeared.

Yagura kneeled down and dug his hand into part of the seal. The rest of the array disappeared a moment later

Fuu made a hand sign before the vines and branches disappeared.

The uncooperative Biju rushed forward the moment they were free.

Naruto dodged Kurama's claw. The moment he was in the air a tail came out and tried to attack him. Clones formed and through him out of the way. Naruto flew through hand signs before bringing his hands to his face.

"Katon: Desolation!"

The wave of fire was instantly melting the sand.

Kurama gave a slight grunt at the flames but was undeterred. However, as the color of the flames increased in frequency, he started to become worried about the power of Naruto's flames. They started changing from their thick orange to white. From there they changed into blue flames. A second later and they had actually turned violet, the color with the highest frequency of visible light, and therefore the hottest color flames. Kurama knew that only two forms of fire could be hotter. The black flames of Amaterasu, and ultra-violet and x-rays, a point in which the flames would become unseen. Kurama knew that if Naruto pushed himself to that point, the only further he could advance would be to start producing dangerous levels of radiation.

Kurama quickly raised his tails and started to form a Bijudama. However, before he could eat the ball of energy, he felt pain rip through his stomach. The Bijudama promptly became unstable from his momentary lapse in concentration and exploded.

When the smoke finally cleared, Kurama looked pissed. He saw Naruto standing there, his Sage mode active. He noticed that it was much more stable than before. Naruto's face had now lost most of the animalistic features, now only sporting the scales over the sides of his face and the dragon-like, ridged eyebrows over his golden eyes and silted pupil. His arms, hands, and torso showed that he still had work to do.

"You used your sage mode to withstand the flames and rushed me while a clone held the fire. Impressive," Kurama said.

Naruto smirked.

Kurama felt his weight being pulled out from under him as several clones grabbed his tails and pulled them under him and towards his head. Kurama was flipped over at the speed his tails were being pulled. A moment later and the clones started pulling at Kurama's chakra. However, Kurama sent out his own chakra to corrupt their own.

Before it could reach them, the clones disappeared.

"I want this over as quickly as possible Kurama, so hold still," Naruto said, flashing through hand signs.

Chains flew out of the ground and wrapped around Kurama.

"Keeping me still won't make taking my chakra easier!"

"No! But this will."

Bunshin formed around him before putting their hands up in the air.

A massive, white Rasengan formed above him. The bunshin started pouring their chakra into the technique before several rings of fire and lightning started to form around it. There was a small, dark ball was at the center of the attack.

"Multi Style: Atomic Rasengan!"

The clones started swarming around him as he took off. Kurama lost track of the real one after he passed the attack on to some of the other clones. Before he could retaliate, he felt a hand on his chest that quickly started pulling on his chakra. He was about to send his own out to corrupt him when he realized that the attack was at him. He braced for its force.

The attack absorbed itself and turned into a black and white, spiraling sphere just before it hit and the shockwave spread through the mindscapes, cause the others to stop what they were doing and stare.

Naruto kept pulling before he was finally able to pull out the last of Kurama's chakra before chains came out of the cave and pulled the now more fragile looking Kurama back into the cave. A moment later and the cage swung closed.

Naruto walked over to Kurama, who barely held his eye open.

"You have become closer and more cooperative, but I can still see hatred in you. One day, I hope to wipe that hatred away." He said before he returned to the center, Kurama falling asleep as he left. Yugito, Yagura, Han, and Utakata were waiting for him. He looked to see Fuu and Gaara still fighting their respective tenants.

"Fuu can handle herself," Naruto said. "Just keep an eye on her and intervene if she needs it. Yugito, I'm going to help Gaara," he said, noticing that Gaara was not struggling to restrain Shukaku, but was struggling to take the chakra from his insane tenant.

When the fight had started, the golden banded and the silvery grey banded canisters opened to allow clouds of iron and gold to fly towards Shuaku. Gaara quickly had them enter Shukaku's arms before the faded yellow one opened for a cloud of the same color to flow from the canister. The uranium dust held Shukau in place, but made taking his chakra no easier.

Naruto walked over to his friend, his sage mode still active.

"Shukaku!" Naruto shouted, getting both of their attention. Naruto then walked over to Gaara. "Allow me to give you a hand my friend."

Naruto walked over to Shukaku's face and stared into one of his eyes. He placed a hand on Shukaku's face before speaking.

"I ask that you do the reasonable thing. Give Gaara a chance. Let your absolute hatred go. I will tell you what I told Kurama. I wish to wipe away the hatred in you. But I will tell you something I didn't tell him," he said before his voice turned cold. "Hagoromo would be disappointed in how you have acted."

Shukaku's eye widened.

"You have fallen into the depths of madness. Just don't give me a reason to lose hope for you...or I will put you down without a second's hesitation." He said before turning around. "You can take over Gaara."

Gaara nodded before stepping forward.

As Naruto stepped back into the center, he could tell that even the previously sleeping Kurama had heard everything he said. Chomei had finally been defeated and had also been hanging on his words.

"I want to wipe away the hatred the Biju have residing in them. That is one of my goals." Naruto said, a golden, flaming cloak forming around his body. "But I have other things that need doing at the moment. Goodbye for now. But first..." he trailed off before flashing to each of the jinchuriki and placing his hand on their seals. A moment later he disappeared.

* * *

 _ **"How**_ did the procedure go?" Naruto asked. He stood before Itachi's form floating in the bacta tank, Sakura at his side. Itachi had a large, thick, and jagged scar running from his hairline to his sternum. The scar had been a wound held together by sutures not long before, but the bacta had quickly dissolved them when the wound was closed.

"It went well. It was amazing that he lasted as long as he did. My guess was that it was only his extreme will and his training that he withstood it. The growths were all over his torso and in his skull. I'm not sure whether or not we got everything," Sakura said.

"You bought him more than enough time if you missed anything. And you save his life you got it all. Either way, He will live a long life for a shinobi. Now then, is there anything else to report?"

"No, sir."

"Good. Follow me to my office."

She did as she was told, following Naruto through the halls of the Uzukage tower. They quickly entered the empty office before Naruto unsealed two things. One was his desk and chair. The other, a large mirror.

The mirror had only two noticeable features that stood out. The first was its inelegance. It had no elegant frame, precious metal or otherwise. The other feature was the fact that it was cracked. The cracks spread out from a single point. As they spread out, the segments of glass got bigger, though they were all of varying size.

"Look in that mirror," Naruto told Sakura as he sat down. "Tell me what you see."

As Sakura turned to the mirror, Naruto began weaving a massively complex genjutsu around her.

Sakura stared a moment before the different shards started to show different parts of her life. She saw her life in Konoha. She saw her time on team seven. She saw everything about her real life. The shards started to merge before showing her how she had 'died'. Then she saw how she had been brought to Uzu, her memories concealed and replaced. The mirror then shattered again as the genjutsu faded and her memories returned, the needle in her brain dissolving.

Sakura fell to her knees. "Why?"

"Why? Why what?" Naruto asked. "I think you and I both already know the answer to both questions."

"No. I mean...why did you give me back my memories?"

"It's time for you to go home Sakura. Now that your purpose has been fulfilled, I no longer have use for you."

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ entered the meeting room one again, Hinata and Shino at his sides again. He was, once again, the last one in.

This was starting to bore Naruto. It was keeping him from other things. He walked to the center of the room while his guards moved to the side.

"Can we call this meeting now?" Naruto asked, turning to look at Mifune.

The old samurai nodded, though he was clearly on guard. Naruto had quickly shown that he was nothing less than a wild card. The fact of the matter was that Mifune had no idea what was going to happen next.

Two large scrolls appeared in each of Naruto's hands from the seals on his arms. He unfurled the larger of the two to once again reveal the map of Uzu.

"Now then, because of Sasuke, I have one single thing to address before everything finally starts," Naruto said. He unfurled the other scroll. "Revealing the dead that are not dead."

The second scroll burst into smoke before Naruto threw an unconscious Sakura into Tsunade's arms.

"You can check her grave if you like," Naruto said. "I assure you, she is very much alive. The body you buried belonged to that of a Kage Bunshin. However, I used massive amounts of seals to let her live through the clone before it died. You would not believe the amount of chakra needed to keep that body formed after it was dead. I had had to abandon months of work to keep the clone alive by using chakra that was...stored up. Oh, one last thing. If you so much as think that I did this for you, Tsunade, I will bury you alive with chakra suppressors all over your body. I kept her alive for my own purposes and saw no reason to kill nor keep her when those purposes were done."

"Before you can even say what you're thinking, Tsunade, he is telling the truth," Sasuke said.

"Yes, yes. Now, I am growing tired of this summit. I would like to finally get out of this country and back to my own." Naruto said.

"As much as I hate to agree with him, the Uzukage is right," Onoki said.

Before anyone could say anything, Tsunade had set Sakura down before leaping over the desk and rushing Naruto.

Before she got very far, Sand surrounded her legs and lower abdomen. She went to raise her hands and fight back before A grabbed both of her hands and held them behind her back.

"As much as I can understand your anger, I would rather you not start a war right now." A said.

"You tortured her!" Tsunade shouted.

"And before I left Konoha, you had me tortured. You tortured a clone, but I received the pain, memories, and mental strain that came with its dispersal." Naruto said. "Now sit down before you start a war."

It took a few minutes for everyone to settle down, though it was obvious that Tsunade was still on edge.

"Now that that is done, the first point I would like to bring up is the Jinchuriki. I realize that Onoki and A were not overly fond of me recruiting them." Naruto said.

"I would like to negotiate for their return." A said.

"Why do you even want them back?" Naruto asked.

"They are weapons," Onoki said. "Even if no one likes to be around them, they are a village's greatest weapon. You might have taken one of the jinchuriki from Kumo and Iwa, but each of us still has one. You might be a Jinchuriki as well, but you can't take on two of the great nations."

"So what does it say about a village that they revere their Kage, who is also a Jinchuriki and the village's founder?" Naruto asked. "You do not know the struggle of a Jinchuriki. I actually expected you to know more, however, Tsunade. Your grandmother was the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi, and yet you claim that its current host is a threat."

"It doesn't matter," A said. "With my brother being a Jinchuriki, I can at least try to understand them. It's why they are better treated in Kumo than in any other village."

"Clearly you have never been to Uzu." Naruto interrupted.

A's face contorted in rage at being interrupted. "As much as I care for my brother, Jinchuriki are tools of their villages. They are not an individual that has the right to make those decisions by themselves."

"That is where you are wrong. Obito once thought like you. Many have thought like you. Those people have tried to use the jinchuriki as tools for so long, that the end of our world has come very close many times in history. If Obito had had his way without my interference, it's quite possible that Kaguya Otstsutsuki would have already killed us all. My opinion might be biased, but I believe the thoughts of the jinchuriki should be held in just as high regard as the Kage. If not just as high, then nearly as high. If for no other reason than because one of them could destroy your village from a mile away. They could easily hold their own in a fight against any of the Kage. Don't tell me their thoughts don't matter if they conflict with your own. Now let's say, hypothetically of course, that I had Yugito positioned outside Kumo. I activate a seal to signal her, and she goes on s brief rampage through your pathetic village before using a Biju Dama to wipe it away. Your fast, I'll give you that, but not fast enough to save your village."

Naruto held up his hand and activated the seal before A could stop him. However, A still ripped his arm off.

Naruto started laughing before the arm grew back. "The interesting thing about clones is that they are forms of their creators molded by separating the person's chakra and forming it out of the body. My technique that allows me to channel chakra into them after their creation and keep them going also allows me to regenerate limbs of the clone by channeling a large quantity of chakra into the clone at once." The bunshin held up a bowl of steaming ramen in the arm that had not been ripped off. "I might be wrong, but I believe you just overreacted. I did say hypothetically. Now, do you understand? We jinchuriki are vastly different than what you think. We can be used as weapons, but we are so much more than that. Now, sit down so that we can speak in a civilized manner. I respect most of you because of your villages and you yourselves have commanded the respect of the world for centuries. Your villages have created names for themselves over the years. I will not have you, in one meeting, besmirching those names by behaving like a babbling, bumbling band of baboons!"

Gaara snickered with a smirk before leaning over to mei. "Try saying that five times fast." He whispered as A had a confused look on his face. The Raikage eventually sat down while Naruto ate his ramen and Gaara and Mei were whispering and laughing. Naruto then cleared his throat to get their attention. The two quieted down and straightened in their chairs.

"Now then, the Orb Union has become powerful," Naruto said. "That fact can be proven by the ease in which Orochimaru was dealt with. Over the years, Uzu has reached out to smaller nations along with Kaze and Mizu to build Orb. We have used Orb to stabilize the regions under our influence. We still have problems, as any nation does, but things have been going well. The first thing that needs to happen is that our political processes need to be explained."

* * *

 _ **"This**_ entire meeting was all but pointless," Naruto mumbled.

He had to admit that he had been pushing his luck more than a little during this meeting, but he had expected to get better results. Though, he had to admit that things could have been worse.

Onoki had flat out admitted that he would retire before joining Uzu. A had admitted a desire to fight him for his actions, but his brother had stopped him. It had been a few days since B had spoken without rhyming. He had shocked his brother with the seriousness he spoke with. He had told A that if Kumo attacked Uzu without first being provoked, he wouldn't fight. He had refused to fight Yugito in a battle without any true meaning. They had both been silent during the rest of the meeting, not including the end when Naruto had still offered to set up trade routes for them from the other nations. Their parts had been played. Tsunade's reaction was less surprising. She had used no small about of sarcasm as she thanked him for keeping Sakura alive and killing Danzo and Orochimaru. She had then turned serious and told him to go to Hell.

"I agree, but it could have been worse. They have agreed not to bother Orb, and Kumo is trading with some of our allies and members. That's a step in the right direction," Hinata said.

They were alone in Naruto's hotel room.

Naruto stood from his chair. "I know. But Konoha is still a wild card. Who knows when they will snap? All I know is that with Kumo and Iwa not with us, we are more likely to lose people."

"We could always attack them first."

"No. I told Sasuke I would give Konoha a choice and they chose. Until their actions go against the choice they have specified, I will honor it."

"Why do you put so much stock in Sasuke? Why is it that you indulge his requests about Konoha?"

"For the same reason I would do the same for you. You, Anko, Sasuke, and Shino are my family in all but blood. Sasuke has not joined me, but he has chosen his home. In a way, it's my own fault. I helped him change his own nature. But, this was one of two paths. I chose this one. I could have tried manipulating him before helping him change his nature, but then he would have followed the path Orochimaru was trying to drag him down. Then there was this path."

"I see. And what happens if he betrays that trust?"

"The same thing I would do to anyone else if they betrayed the trust I put in them. You know what I mean."

"That incident a few years ago?"

"Yes. Torture if possible, but death will always be the end result for those who betray the trust I extend."

"And what about the plan? If we leave Konoha alone-"

"The plan will come to fruition. I guaranty that. It will just take longer. We will bide our time. The current Konoha will fall eventually. Even if it is only metaphorically. We will replace the corruption over time. Eventually, there will be nothing left of the old world. Nothing but the seed of corruption and greed in the human mind that we will stomp out whenever it sprouts. It will never be a perfect world. There is no such thing. But it will be ideal."

They both pause for a few minutes.

"Hinata," Naruto said, walking over to her. "Thank you, for everything." He said as he embraced her.

Hinata returned the embrace as they shared the moment. Naruto pressed his forehead against Hinata's for a moment. His neck then bent down a bit before Hinata turned red and melted. While she was calm outside, Hinata was dying of excitement inside. Even after everything, this was the first time Naruto had ever kissed her. It was small and short, and, in Hinata's eyes, it had ended all too soon.

Outside the door, Shino was kneeling down with his insects crawling back up his arms. "Anko's going to love this," Shino said with a smirk. Then he left.

Naruto stepped away from her for a moment before leaning his head down. He laid his forehead into the crook of her shoulder.

"No matter what happens...No matter how many wars come...No matter how many die around us...Promise me that you, Shino, and Anko will never leave me alone. Promise me that. Promise me that." Naruto said, hugging her tighter.

Hinata hugged him tighter in return. "I won't leave you here alone. I can only try to make sure to try and keep our friends with us, but I promise to try and keep them here. But even if you and I are the last ones left, Promise me something."

"Anything."

"Promise me that even if we are the last ones left, that we will live for those we lost along the way. Promise me that we will live for those we lose along our path. If they die, we will live to fight and die another day."

"Thank you."

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ was packing while Obito stood next to him.

"Why are you sending your team ahead?" Obito asked.

"I'm sending _you all_ ahead of me except Shino and Hinata because I want to travel under normal circumstances. I will tell you the same thing I told you before. The Hiraishin is a tool for battle and emergency. I will travel like any other man unlit such a time as war descends upon us. You can walk if you wish as well. But I am sending you on ahead." Naruto said.

"Alright. I'll see you in a few days then." Obito said before a spiral opened extended up. The spiral expanded into a circular door to his home in Uzu.

"Oh, and Obito."

"Yes?"

"I have a bad feeling. I still have Hiruzen's armor, but I want you to have them prepare my war armor."

"Which one?"

"Both of them. I will use the light of one to inspire hope in our people, and I will use the darkness of the other to inspire fear in our enemies. I will bring The End to their lines."

"How can you tell?"

"What do you mean?"

"How can you tell when things are changing? When war and terrible things are on the move?"

"I've always had a feeling about these things. I have that feeling now."

"Then be safe," Obito said before walking through his portal and then closing it.

* * *

 _ **While**_ Naruto was leaving For Uzu as Tsunade was getting Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Sasuke ready.

"What battle are we preparing for, Tsunade?" Sasuke asked.

"We're going after Naruto," Tsunade responded.

"What did you say?"

"We're going to kill him before he gets back to Uzu. You saw. He sent the rest of his team to Uzu ahead of him. We will be meeting up with another team before we catch up to Naruto."

"You can't! If you attack him-"

"Then Uzu will be in chaos. It will give us and Iwa time to attack the island quickly. Both the Tsuchikage and I will be at the head of the invasion. The Raikage has already told me that even if his jinchuriki will not join, he and his nation will. With Naruto and Uzu dead, Orb will fall apart. His nations won't be able to act."

"If you do this, thousands will die."

"I know."

Tsunade then turned to Sakura, who was now awake. "Are you ready?" she asked.

Sakura nodded.

"If I can kill him before the other two die, will you let Hinata and Shino go?" Sasuke asked.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ was once again walking the road between Iron and The Whirling Tides. He, Hinata, and Shino walked the path as they talked.

As they crossed a border into one of the territories belonging to Uzu, Naruto stopped. Shino and Hinata stopped as well.

"Tsunade. Take a big step back. I don't know what kind of bullshit power play you're trying to pull here, but this is my territory. So whatever you're thinking, you'd better think again! Otherwise, I'm going to have to head down to Konoha and I will rain down in a Godly fucking firestorm upon you! You're going to have to unite the world against me to keep me from destroying you. I'm talking about a scorched earth! I will massacre you! I WILL FUCK YOU UP!" Naruto shouted.

A moment later and Tsunade emerged. Jiraiya, Sasuke, Kakashi, Kurenai, Sakura, Shikamaru, Choji, Tenten, and several ANBU.

"Naruto Uzumaki. Surrender and you will die quickly," one of the ANBU said.

"Is this what you have decided, Tsunade? Sasuke. Walk away. Now. If you don't, then you will die." Naruto said. "I gave them and you a choice. If you betray my trust right now, I will end you."

"I can't Naruto. They will attack you anyways. I already know that if they do and fail you will attack and destroy Konoha. I can't risk that." Sasuke said.

"Fine," Naruto said in a dead voice. "So be it. But tell me. Why do some of you do this? Honor? Stand amongst the ashes of a trillion dead souls and ask the ghosts if honor matters. This is all so worthless. Your deaths will hold no meaning. I promise you this. Now, let's get on with it." he said, drawing his sword.

"I'm sorry Naruto. I tried to convince them not to do this. But, I will do everything in my power to prevent my people from shedding blood," Sasuke said.

"And what of my people? That was the argument you used against me. I was a fool for listening to such an argument. I should have simply had my armies march on Konoha while I was in the summit. Know this Tsunade. Think about the people in your village. You have brought upon them nothing but ruin and death."

Naruto said nothing more before rushing in. Tenten was unceremoniously cut in half in a vertical line.

A wave of insects swallowed up some of the ANBU who came up behind Naruto.

Choji became a giant and tried to crush Naruto. A moment later and a sword was stabbed in-between his knuckles.

Naruto ripped the sword out to destroy most of the hand, enjoying Choji's scream of pain. The scream didn't last long before Naruto knocked Choji out.

"You will see your clan burn. Then you can die." Naruto said before turning to block an ANBU who came at him with a sword.

The moment Naruto beheaded the agent, Naruto rushed over to Hinata to help her in her combat against three of the ANBU. The three stood back to back to back as best they could. Jiraiya entered his sage mode and tried to land a hit on Shino, but he was blocked by an invisible field. That same field then started electrocuting him.

As Jiraiya screamed in pain, the others backed off for a moment.

The electricity flowing through Jiraiya stopped as Naruto gripped the man's neck. He quickly threw Jiraiya like a ragdoll to Tsunade's feet.

"Let me show you the price you pay for not taking up my offers. My gifts become curses now." Naruto said.

The sealing arrays began appearing all over Jiraiya's body as he once again began writhing in pain. Naruto closed his hand. In response, Jiraiya's leg gave a sickening crunch as the bones in his legs were crushed. Jiraiya then fell still and quiet before letting out a nightmarish scream. He stopped once again before the seals melted off his body. Once gone, it revealed nothing but a pile of ash in the shape of a human body. Those ashes were taken by the wind a second later.

Tsunade's eyes were open wide at the horrific thing she had just seen. "You're a monster." She said. "Kill him. KILL HIM NOW!"

As the others started rushing in again, Naruto twisted around to dodge a kick to his head. He shot out his leg and sent on of the ANBU into a tree, the body wrapping partly around the tree as the spine bent awkwardly.

Sasuke then rushed in with his Chidori.

Naruto countered by grabbing Sasuke's wrist and flipping him over. He attempted to break Sauke's arm but was unable to do so before his opponent escaped his grip and retreated.

Kurenai went in for an opening in Hinata's defenses, but her blade hit one of Naruto's ribs instead. While she tried to comprehend what had stopped her, Naruto shoved his sword through the bottom of her jaw and out the top of her skull.

It was at this moment, as most of the ANBU were now dead, that Sasuke noticed that Naruto was doing everything he could to guard Shino and Hinata, though he saw Naruto favoring Hinata. They were only here for Naruto.

Sasuke charged his Chidori, aiming for Hinata this time. He had expected Naruto to get in his way but was shocked when Naruto appeared over him, just short of Hinata. Naruto swung his blade and tried to cut into Sasuke's skull.

Everything slowed down at this moment as instinct took over for both of them. Sasuke jumped and twisted his body to avoid the sword. But he felt dread as he realized he was still moving towards his target. He tried to stop but kept moving. Even as his feet dug into the ground, his momentum carried him.

Naruto's own momentum carried him as he landed on the ground. Horror filled him as he realized what had just happened. As he realized what was happening. He heard the sickening sound of flesh being pierced as reality came back to speed. He turned to look over his shoulder. His own words flashed into his mind.

' _Even a kunai can kill a Kage.'_ Sometimes, terrible things happen. No matter how easy they could have been to stop or how much we tried to stop them, they still happened. He had just never expected this. Why did this have to happen?

Naruto heard glass shattering, already knowing what it meant. He had intended it never to happen.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is really important, so please read it.  
> When I first wrote this chapter, I hadn't intended for it to make people as angry as it did. Some people gave up on the story or thought this was the actual end. I want to make this very clear.
> 
> After a certain point, this chapter is somewhere between an alternate ending and a hallucination. When the next chapter is posted it will become clear where that line is drawn, but I promise that the way I went about doing this will be reworked in the rewrite.
> 
> Also:  
> Uploading both chapters 17, 18, and 19 today to help catch up with what I have published on Wattpad. Putting this note on all three just in case.

***Two Days Prior***

_**"Tell**_ me exactly what a king is?" the figure asked.

He and Naruto were sitting in two chairs before a fireplace. It was only a room Naruto had materialized within his mindscape, but it was still relaxing.

"That is a strange question." Naruto said.

"You're talking to me and didn't expect such a question?"

"It's exactly because I'm talking to you that I expected a strange question. I was simply pointing out the strangeness of it. Even for you, it is unusual."

"Just answer the question.

"A king is like an emperor. But, by the very definition, an emperor has power over more lands than a king."

"What do you mean?"

"A king has control over a kingdom, which is a single country or state. And emperors have empires, which are collections of states."

"So that is why the Kage and Daimyos are sometimes referred to as kings." He said before a pause. "To think, when I get out of here I'll be a king."

"When?"

"If you prefer to use the word 'if', then feel free."

Naruto paused a moment before speaking again. "Why 'king'?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why not Kage? You specified that you would be a king. You took interest in the word to begin with. Why?"

"I already knew what the word meant. I live in your mind. I took an interest in the differences between the words. I chose king, because it has a better ring to it than Kage."

"A better ring?"

"A different ring. Even if I were to conquer the entire world, I would settle for king over emperor. It's different and not used as often. I would go for hegemon for the same reason. However, it would be a good word for someone with an emperor like position, but it's a more complicated word that few would understand without a description. I would rather be called a king. When you finally break, and I finally get out of this prison, I will become the greatest and most feared king to ever rule."

"I find it interesting how our conversations can be so civilized sounding even though we both know you're insane. And they can be so calm until you bring up the topic about you breaking free. Not only that, but you consider my mind a prison when we both know that some would consider your mind a nightmare. You and I both know you're an insane psychopath."

"You're one to talk. Or have you forgotten who I am? And so soon after our last talk? I'm hurt."

"I remember who you are. Do not think me a fool. I also remember what you are after, Kichigai."

Kichigai simply exhaled a deep breath before standing up. "Yes. I want to know what's in that vault of yours. Think what you will of me, but it's your fault."

"I know that. I know."

* * *

***Now***

_**Kichigai**_ walked out of the shower in the manifested bathroom. He dried himself off before looking into the mirror.

He pushing his long, straight, white, and now dry, hair over his ear. His hair was much longer in the back, going down between his shoulder blades, than the rest, which framed his face. His face was slightly thinner than who it was based on, but it still belonged to someone who he detested. His face changed to become slightly thinner than before as the structure changed. The change was only slight, but the structure was clearly different from before. He looked into his normal pupils, red irises, and golden sclera before turning away. He would need to have the facial reconstruction done in the real world when he got out.

He then got dressed. Despite his darker nature, he liked the white coat and pants that materialized in his hands. He wore a dark green, almost black shirt under the jacket. He would need the clothes made when he got out.

A jagged and stylized ring of metal formed on his head and rested there. Four long metal spikes of metal grew out of the top. One grew out above the center of his forehead while all four grew out in equal intervals that divided the crown into quarters. Two short spikes grew out the sides and pointed outward.

"Just another thing I'll need recreated in the real world," Kichigai said. "But at least I have the designs worked out for my crown. Getting out. Speaking of such a thing...I believe I just heard glass shatter."

The bathroom faded away as he walked into the main room of the mindscape. The main room had been changed to a large room in a cave system. Through one door, Kurama's cage could be found. Another would lead to the beach and the other cave opening that allowed Kurama a view of the beach. In the main room, there was a massive glass case with several Naruto's standing on the shelves. The glass was shattered and one of them was missing.

Kichigai started laughing uncontrollably as his laughs slowly became darker.

"I AM FREE!"

* * *

 _ **The**_ entire battlefield stood still as no one moved. Naruto turned to see the electricity die out. What he saw nearly made him vomit.

Sasuke slowly removed his hand from Hinata's chest. Hinata was somehow still barely alive and able to keep on her feet, even after Sasuke had turned around with a look of horror on his face. His arm was covered in blood. A moment later and Hinata gave Naruto a sad look before she collapsed. She was dead.

Sasuke looked down at her before looking at Naruto. "Naruto. I never meant-"

"Why couldn't you just honor your agreement, Tsunade? Now we all die. Why couldn't you all understand what I was doing?" Naruto said before turning to Shino. "Take her body and get to Uzu. Don't come back for me." However, Shino hesitated. "NOW! I JUST GAVE YOU AN ORDER!"

Shino got rid of his shock, picked up Hinata's body, and looked up at Naruto. "Finish this quickly and get back safely."

Naruto looked him in the eye, shocking his friend once more with his now golden sclera. A tear flowed down his face. "I can't promise coming back, nor can I promise that this will be over quickly. Now go."

Shino disappeared in a cloud of insects.

"You have all brought upon yourselves a death that I can't stop. The animal inside is thirsting for a fight," Naruto said, his hair becoming straight and long as it turned white. His irises turned red. He started laughing. "I told that fool I would make my move the moment he broke."

Time froze as Naruto stood in his mindscape, looking at Kichigai.

"I told you." Kichigai said, shifting his crown on his head.

"Yes. Yes, you did." Naruto responded.

"I never did ask this, but do you even remember when you created me?"

Naruto thought for a moment. "Yes. Years ago. Back when I punched my mirror as a child. My mind mirrored the mirror and cracked. It split." He said before he started sinking into the floor of the cave. "You were the byproduct. Or rather, part of it. _We_ were the byproduct."

"Yes. The embodiment of your own madness. It's why you named me Kichigai," Kichigai said as he turned his head to look at the glass case. "They are embodiments of parts of our mind as well. They just aren't strong-willed enough to act."

"So then, what will you do with your newfound freedom? What will you do Kichigai, King of Madness?"

"I think I will give you a simple parting gift. I will kill everyone around me right now. I'll let you watch as I kill those who killed your precious friend."

Naruto knew it was pointless to argue. There was nothing he could do to stop Kichigai.

Back in the real world, Naruto's will faded as he screamed in pain. It stopped before Kichgai straightened his back. He cracked his new neck and knuckles before taking in a deep breath and exhaling it.

"I'm finally free. Years trapped in his mind and now..." Kichigai paused to chuckle. "I've got no strings to hold me down, to make me fret, or make me frown. I had strings, but now I'm free. There are no strings on me!"

As he finished speaking, a burst of energy blasted the surrounding area with him at the epicenter.

The rest of the people in the area were forced to shield their faces.

The blast died down and the others were finally able to get a good look at what was left of their target.

"Naruto?" Sasuke asked.

Kichigai looked at the Uchiha. "No. I'm what's left. I am King Kichigai."

"What are you talking about?"

"Naruto is no longer here. He has you to thank for that. I took over," Kichigai said before a bunshin appeared next to him and henged into a crown that he placed on his head. He chose to keep the Uzukage cloak rather than having a clone form his white coat. "This will have to do until I can have a real one made. Now then," he said, looking at everyone around him, "each of you will surrender now, or you will be counted along with the endless masses that I will defeat. You will kneel as I conquer the world, or now. Only surrendering now will save more lives, but you have never cared for that much before."

"We're not going to surrender just because you talk like you're someone else," Tsunade said.

"Very well," Kichigai said. A split second later and he disappeared. His voice started coming from every direction. "Naruto realized a moment too late that there was no hope for any of you. He tried to hold on to hope until the very last second, but he realized in the end that you were all beyond saving. He always wanted to keep me back, but he realized too late that the only end to the path he walked would lead to my freedom. He should have gone all out. Instead, he held back. And now, that path... WILL LEAD TO YOUR DEATHS! FUTON: CHAOS STORM!"

Wind tore through the area from every direction, ripping up trees and sand. Some of the ANBU who couldn't stick to the ground in time were killed when they hit the trees and their spines and necks were broken or their heads split open. As the dust kicked up, they lost the ability to see. Some of them lost their concentration and were thrown away like dolls when the dust entered their eyes.

Minutes later, when it finally settled, Sasuke opened his eyes to see that he was no longer in the same clearing. He looked around and was astounded to see that they were in the mountains. He was standing on a ledge near the peek, his ears hurting while he adjusted. He looked up to see Kichigai standing just a few yards above him on the peek.

"I figured that it would be more fun to fight you all separately so that I could stretch my new legs." Kichigai said. "Now, to answer the question of who I am in a better way. I am King Kichigai, The one who has been trapped in Naruto's mind for many years, the one who waited for years to get free and take over, and the one who has finally murdered my maker and gain my freedom. I am all that remains. Now, defend yourself."

Kichigai disappeared again and Sasuke couldn't even acknowledge the fact that his opponent was gone before he felt pain in the back of his head. Kichigai didn't wait after the kick to Sasuke's head to appear again punch Sasuke's stomach. However, his fist hit solid chakra in the form of an ethereal rib.

"Good. I get to see Susanoo. I wouldn't want this to be boring. But I can step things up too."

Kichigai backed away Sasuke had his armored Susanoo try to grab him. He started running along the side of the mountain. However, he quickly appeared behind Sasuke. He placed his hand on the armor of the Susanoo and a sealing array started spreading out. Kichigai was shocked to see the array crawl back up his arm and recede from the armor. He retreated once again as Sasuke turned around and had his armor raise its sword in its right hands.

"Damn rebound. I have the knowledge, but not the experience to properly place arrays directly on solid chakra constructs," Kichigai said. He placed his hand on a rock. The sealing array moved to the rock. The rock turned to dust once the seal established itself.

Sasuke's sword came down and cut into the stone where Kichigai once stood on.

"Stop this. I don't care who you are. Just stop this so that this will be over." Sasuke said.

"I cannot leave this undecided. I will have a true victory here. I won't run either. I won't step down to battle another day. You will remember me for all time. I might have much stronger attributes, but this determination is a vital part of me."

* * *

 _ **Kichigai**_ appeared out of the water of the river as his Mizu Bunshin was destroyed. He lunged after Shikamaru who was still retracting his shadow. He went to stab his sword down the back of Shikamaru's neck and into his spine, but he retreated as Sakura's fist came down on him.

Shikamaru didn't last much longer as his strategy fell apart. Sakura held Kichigai's fists while Shadows rushed at him. However, she didn't expect him to lower his head and stab her eye with one of the blades on his crown.

Kichigai quickly used the Hiraishin to get behind Shikamaru. He didn't use his sword this time. Instead, he drove his hand into Shikamaru's back and gripped his spine. He ripped the spine out and smiled as the skull came out as clean as the spine, only blood and sinew attached.

"Sakura, you can be useful as a medic. Tsunade will never join, but I can still use you. Hail to the king. To me. Kneel to the crown and you will stay alive. You will be able to stand in the sun."

Sakura used her medical jutsu to stop the bleeding from her irreparable eye before rushing Kichigai with her enhanced strength. Shikamaru's skull nearly knocked her unconscious after it had been whipped at her by the spine. She could have sworn she heard her own skull crack before she felt her back hit the water of the river. She then saw Kichigai standing over her.

"You disappointed me. So I have to give you a punishment. Regret your helplessness and feel despair. Let the water flow with shades of red now." Kichigai said before stepping on Sakura's face. He applied pressure until her face went under the shallow water.

Sakura felt pain in her lungs from lack of air and pain in her face as Kichigai lifted his other foot to place all his weight on her face. She heard her nose break before she felt the pain. She didn't expect the other foot to slam into her chest. She released all of her breath and the blood coming up her throat. The pressure left her face before everything went black.

Kichigai had crushed her skull. "Good. Now that their dead, it's one less thing to worry about." He said as he turned into the water he was made from.

* * *

 _ **Kichigai's**_ giant, golden shroud of the Kyuubi used its tails to grab one of Sasuke's crossbow bolts out of the air. Sasuke had already pushed his Susanoo to its final stabilized mode while Kichigai was within a fox-headed humanoid version of the chakra cloak. Had anyone been that high in the mountains watching, they would have been amazed to watch these two massive entities fighting on the side of the mountains themselves.

A massive ball of Amaterasu flames formed in one of the Susanoo's hands before sending a stream of the black fire towards Kichigai. However, Sasuke was unprepared for the flames to encounter a giant, white, ethereal ribcage.

Sasuke was just able to see Kichigai's eyes swirl into a strange pattern that Sasuke recognizes as some form of the Sharingan.

"These eyes once belonged to Shisui Uchiha, but I chose not to use their special ability for now. I WANT THINGS TO BE MORE FUN!" Kichigai shouts over the roaring wind.

The ethereal cage expands into flaps of armor along the shoulders and thighs of the chakra cloak as the rib cage sinks in and rests where it normally would in a person. Small, spiked plates formed along the spines of the nine tails while a spiked helmet that resembled a crown formed on top of its head, though I's face is still exposed. There is also a massive sword at its hip that Sasuke recognizes. It's the sword that Naruto had always used. It is recognizable by the green dragon along the handle. There is also a cloak resting on its shoulders.

Sasuke let out a yell as he charged Kichigai. He was starting to question whether or not he could win this battle. He wondered if he had tried taking on more than he could handle. But in this moment, it didn't matter. He had started this. He had no choice but to finish it, even if he didn't like the outcome.

Tails came from behind Kichigai and grabbed the Susanoo's arms, but the arms were quickly out of their grip. Sasuke drew his Susanoo's sword and brought it down on the Kyuubi shroud's head. However, ten separate objects blocked his blade. The objects were all swords, either in the shroud's hands or one in each tail. The one in its hands was from its hip, but the others were replicas of the same blade with one difference. The blades in the tails were white in place of the black.

Two of the blades held Sasuke's in place while the others started to move.

Sasuke responded by using the wings on the back of his Susanoo to become airborne and dodge the blades. He had never pushed the Susanoo this far but knew that he had to endure the pain or it would cost him his life. He thought he might have the advantage now, but was shocked to see Kichigai slowly entering his dragon sage mode. The features of the shroud began changing, but the changes were slow. He needed to finish this before the fight continued for too long.

* * *

 _ **Kichigai**_ placed another explosive tag on a tree as he passed by. These two were more difficult opponents than the other pair. They were more fun.

There was another explosion close behind him as the explosion he had just used exploded. They were catching up. He smiled.

Kichigai planted his foot into the ground and twisted his body, raising his fist as he did so. He was only just turned around when Tsunade and Kakashi rushed into sight. He was hoping to get Tsunade with this, but Kakashi would work.

While Kakashi had his Sharingan active, he didn't have time to react to the extended arm that caught him in the neck via a clothesline move. Simple yet effective as his momentum carried him a few more feet.

Kichigai jumped into one of the trees to avoid an earth-shattering punch from Tsunade, but he was quickly back on the offensive as scales started spreading across his arms. He had to take this slow or he would be facing a similar problem to that of his current lacking in sealing arrays.

Tsunade blocked as Kichigai's clawed fist tried to hit her gut, but didn't expect him to use the scales on his arm to scratch up her own. She retreated as he tried to jab his hand at her this time, attempting to sink his claws into her shoulder. She was able to grab his wrist, trying to disregard the pain of his scales growing and digging into her hand. She quickly used his lapse in movement to deliver a skull-crushing blow to his head. She could feel his cranium cave in under the force of her attack.

Tsunade thought she had some sort of a victory, but was only half surprised to see the body turn into mud. She was far more surprised to feel claws digging into her shoulder blade. She was about to activate her Creation Rebirth seal when she felt a foot on her back and the claws start pulling on the flesh of her shoulder. Excruciating tore through her, but it was eclipsed by the fear of whatever had caused the massive explosion she could feel shaking the earth.

"Tsunade. First, I'm going to go...disable Kakashi. Then, I'm going to drag you back to Uzu where you will be prepared for your public execution. I'll rip out your throat with my bare hands." Kichigai said in a sadistic tone.

Tsunade felt pain rip into her again before her Creation Rebirth activated. She would not let it end that easily.

* * *

 _ **Sasuke**_ had his Susanoo lower its arms so that he could see what had just happened. He was shocked to see most of the mountain they were battling on was now gone. The Bijudama was not something to be taken tightly. He looked around to try and find Kichigai, but was crashing to the ground before he could find him.

He looked behind him to see Kichigai in his chakra shroud. The shroud had changed again. There were massive dragon wings of chakra growing out of the shroud's back. The wings matched those of the ones on Kichigai's own back. Spikes were growing out above the shrouds eyes. The Susanoo armor grew out over the crest and backs of the wings.

"I FEEL SO ALIVE!" Kichigai shouted as he drove Sasuke into the ground.

The force of the Susanoo slamming into the base of the mountain sent Sasuke towards the ground and he became unbalanced. He fell from the head of the Susanoo and hit the ground a second later. The pain of hitting the rocks coupled with the pain of maintaining his Susanoo kept him from being able to keep the construct formed any longer. The construct shattered and quickly faded away. Sasuke rolled over to look up at Kichigai. He knew that he was about to die. He couldn't fight something so powerful in this state. Confusion came as the shroud disappeared, the sage mode and Susanoo going with it.

Kichigai landed on his feet a few moments later, Sasuke laying a few feet away. He could see the question in Sasuke's eyes. "What's the point in killing you with all that power when you are down to so little? There's no fun to that. I want you all to be broken down by my hands until your hope has died. I will beat you down until the victory is mine. Now stand up and show me some pride." He said, offering his hand. "I might be insane, but I won't kill the greatest source of fun I've ever seen. Not yet, anyway."

Sasuke laid there a moment before taking the hand. He got onto his feet and backed up. He composed himself before drawing his own sword. He was trying to hide his fear.

"Do you think you can hide your fear from me?" Kichigai asked. "I am one with my inner warrior. And when the world looks upon this battlefield, the evidence of that fact fill be undeniable. And as I look upon you through these warrior's eyes, I see the fear that will ensure my victory."

And with that, their battle resumed.

* * *

 _ **Another**_ explosion went off as Kichigai threw another explosive tag that blew up in Tsunade's face. Tsunade burst from the smoke and brought her fist down. Kichigai dodged and watched as the ground was destroyed. As long as he held back his most powerful abilities, this was great fun. It would be even more so if he didn't have to hold back. He turned around and started running. He had an amazing idea.

It was easy to bend angry people to your will. It was one of the first things Kichigai took note of when he got free. Naruto fell first. Now Tsunade. It was all too easy.

"Come on Tsunade. I'm glad you lasted longer than your student, but this is pathetic. I'll make you a deal. If you can land a hit on me, I'll give you her crushed in head to burry!" Kichigai said.

This enraged Tsunade. "Did you kill her you bastard?!"

"Yes. It was fun listening to her screams of pain. Even better than the time Naruto skinned her alive!"

Tsunade started rushing after him in rage. She thought she was going to lose her mind from the rage and hatred flowing through her.

They ran like this for several minutes before Tsunade caught up to him. She leaped into the air and came down, ready to end this.

Kichigai flipped into the air so that he looked her in the eye. He was smirking just as her fist was about to make contact with his face. It was as this was about to happen that he burst into a cloud of smoke. The smoke blew past her just before her hand was about to hit the ground. Her eyes opened in realization as she saw what Kichigai had done. Her fist was buried in Kakashi's chest milliseconds later. She had been fooled.

"Rotten luck," Kichigai said, standing over her. "Everything, falling apart around you. That can't be fun. Too bad. I was having fun fighting you. But it's over now." He grabbed her throat before sealing her into a scroll. "Now all that remains is the Uchiha."

* * *

 _ **"Do**_ you think that hiding will grant you mercy? There is no mercy from the edge of the blade." Kichigai shouted. They had been crossing blades for several minutes before Sasuke threw a smoke bomb and disappeared. But Kichigai could tell he was still near. He then turned to the trees. He knew where to look. "You can't hide now. I am the ultimate warrior. I will give you a chance to come out now. So decide now. Decide how they'll remember you. Decide how this world will remember you. Do not hide now. Act like the warrior you were trained to be. Show your pride now, and you will solidify your place in time. Come out now, and history will not forget you." Minutes passed in silence before Kichigai sighed. "Fine. The fun had to end eventually."

Kichigai held up his palm. The arm of the Susanoo appeared under his own as a ring of magatama appeared above him. They flew forward and ripped through the trees before a massive explosion tore apart the area.

When the explosion died down, Kichigai walked forward. He found a badly injured Sasuke trying to crawl away. He walked up next to him and kicked him the side. Sasuke was forced onto his back by the kick.

Sasuke managed to get up and duck behind a fallen log as a barrage of shuriken flew after him.

"Don't you turn your back on me! I want to see the light leave your eyes when I kill you!"

Kichigai was over the log and was able to kick Sasuke in the head before having him on his back again.

"I told you there would be no mercy from my blade. Goodbye," Kichigai said. He brought up his sword but stopped in a split second of hesitation. He smirked before cutting through Sasuke's chest. "All obstacles have been cleared. Time to go home."

* * *

 _ **The**_ people within the Uzukage tower stepped aside as Kichigai dragged Sasuke's dead body and Tsunade's unconscious one through the halls. He was leaving two bloody trails behind him on the floor. One for each body. He eventually found his way to one of the ANBU. He handed them Sasuke's body.

"Take this to Obito and Itachi. Have them rip out his eyes. If Itachi tries causing chaos over it, tell him that I will explain everything later." Kichigai said.

Kichigai kept walking with Tsunade dragging behind him. When he finally got to what was now his office, he found four people waiting for him. Kamaji, Akira, Shino, and Anko.

They stood there, looking solemn as they stared at him. Kichigai could see their shock at his changed appearance. He just smirked and threw Tsunade's limp form into the wall and out of the way.

"Naruto. What happened?" Anko asked.

Kichigai just stared at them. Then he smirked. "Short version? Naruto died. I'm Kichigai."

"What did you say?" Shino said.

"My name is Kichigai. Naruto is dead. He became me. But you and everyone else will call me King Kichigai," Kichigai said before he walked around his desk to sit down. "When Hinata died, so did the man you once knew. I'm what's left."

* * *

 _ **"I'm**_ worried Anko," Shino said.

"I know," Anko responded.

They were walking along the halls of the King's Tower, as the Uzukage Tower was now called. They were headed to give a mission report to Kamaji. It had before nearly a week since Kichigai had replaced Naruto, and things were already changing.

"He didn't even go to her grave after, let alone during, her funeral. Look what he did to Itachi." Anko said. When Itachi confronted him about Sasuke, things had quickly turned ugly. Itachi had only just gotten out of the bacta tanks, but he was in them once more.

"I know, but we can't do anything right now," Shono responded.

"There are plenty of things we could do. The problem is that none of the options are favorable."

"You do realize he's going to move soon, right?"

"Yes. But the changes going on within this village are becoming more noticeable. Some of the people are afraid of what has happened to their leader."

"Yeah. And Akira is going to confront him later today if he hasn't already. He's stayed out of Kichigai's way so far, but he's going to try putting a stop to this soon."

"You don't sound like you agree with Akira confronting him."

"I am. Naruto has changed, but that's why we need to support him right now."

"Support him? He's my friend too, but if this goes on then Uzu and Orb will fall apart."

Shino rounded on her. "We are not just his friends. We are his family. And in case you missed it, he saw someone he once considered his brother kill Hinata. Yes, he has changed more than even I expected after what happened, but you and I both know why her death affected him like that. Whatever is happening inside his head right now, Itachi already proved that confronting him head-on isn't going to fix this."

Anko couldn't argue with him, she didn't know how. "What should we do then? He's avoiding contact with most of us under normal circumstances, we can't confront him, and we definitely can't do nothing."

"I know that. I'll work on something. For now, go give our mission report."

"What will you do?"

"I'm going down to torture and interrogation to keep Akira from doing something stupid."

They went separate ways as Shino made his way through the halls to the streets. He continued walking until he eventually came to a small building. He stepped through the door and walked down the endless staircase on the other side. It was too dark to see after a few steps, but that didn't matter to anyone who knew the way. He kept walking down each step before coming to a stop and turning to the side. He easily grasped a doorknob and opened the door.

The door was only parallel to the step Shino was on, being above the others to create an uneven step. The open door spilled light into the stairway for a moment before he stepped through and closed it. He was now within the torture and integration department.

Shino turned down a hall as he heard a woman's screams from down within the facility. He heard one of the metal doors close around a corner before turning down another corner. He saw the room he was headed towards before the door blasted off the hinges. Akira was the object that had sent the large door flying. Kichigai followed him out, but he was on his feet rather than in the air.

"You will watch your tongue, Akira, or you will have it cut from your head. My name is not Naruto, and if you think you can threaten me like that again then you are dead wrong." Kichigai said. "I destroyed Iron to set an example. It's the same reason I'm force-feeding Tsunade drain cleaner. When I take her to Konoha for her execution, the whole world will realize that it can't challenge me or Orb any longer. Now go. I have work to do."

Akira stood up and glared at Kichigai a moment before walking away.

"Meet with me and Anko later," Shino said to Akira as he passed.

Akira nodded as he disappeared.

Shino walked up to Kichigai as he returned to the room he had come from.

"Keep certain whispers unsaid Shino. It's the best way to save your life." Kichigai said. He walked over to a tied down Tsunade as she struggled against the restraints. "Hold still. Pouring drain cleaner down people's throats becomes difficult when they struggle."

Tsunade struggled more when Kichigai took a jug of green, viscous fluid and put it next to her face. She refused to open her mouth, but Kichigai held her nose closed and twisted. This cut off air and caused pain. It took time, but Tsunade eventually opened her mouth to breathe. The opening to the jug was in her mouth and pouring in drain cleaner within the same instant.

Tsunade writhed and screamed in pain while Kichigai's smirk only got larger. He then placed his hand on her forehead and forcibly activated the seal she had there. He left her like that as he turned to Shino.

"Anko and some of the others are starting to question your actions. Sending the Bahamt to destroy Iron, spending the last week down here torturing Tsunade, and mobilizing the shinobi. People here in Uzu are afraid." Shino said.

"Are you one of them?" Kichigai asked.

"I'm questioning how you're holding up, but no. I'm with you my friend."

"You do realize I'm not Naruto, right?"

"Of course. Naruto didn't just change into you. But you are a part of what he once was. You're what's left of him. I do want him back, but I'll stick with you."

"Then you have new orders. Divide your clan into six sections. One section will imbed themselves in each of the five great villages with the sixth spreading through the minor ones. You will lead the faction going to Konoha. Don't have anyone worry about Taki or its warring neighbors. Fuu and Kakuzu will deal with that. You are to have them plant ten chaos mines in each of the main villages, five in their lands, and three in the minor lands."

"All five villages sir? Why Kiri and Suna?"

Kichigai pulled out several files. "Contingencies. What I'm going to do might turn them against me. I will unite this world under my rule as king and I will not let two villages be the single barrier left between me and that goal."

"What do you want me to do about the others?"

"Tell them that the goal of uniting the world for peace is still the goal, even if parts of the plan have changed. I know that Obito will stick with me. Until the world is united at the very least. Convince Anko and the others if you can. I'll handle the rest."

"I'll stand by you until the end, but I would still like it if you could tell me the endgame."

"Still trying to decide that. I'll get back to you on it though. Now go. Contact me when the planting of the chaos mines are complete."

Shino nodded and left.

Kichigai placed one of the files on a table. He had already known what he would do. He knew that the Winter Contingency was his endgame. He went to the last page and looked at the only line as greedily as Naruto once had. He had known that this was what he would choose from the moment he was free and had the chance to look in Naruto's personal vaults. He turned to Tsunade and walked over to her with the file before deactivating her seal. He held the file up to her.

"See that Tsunade?" Kichigai asked. "That's the last step of the Winter Contingency. That's what I'm going to do. That is how this war will end."

Tsunade's eyes were wide as she read the one line.

' _Final step: Destroy the world.'_

"That's right. I'm going to unite this world under my rule. And then, when I get bored, I'll destroy this world."

"You....truly are....insane." Tsunade ground out through gritted teeth and pain.

Kichigai chuckled and his smirk grew to the largest it could. He leaned in close to Tsunade's ear. "Why do you think my name is Kichigai? Of course I'm insane. But you should take comfort in the fact that you won't around to be bothered by it much longer. Now then. Where were we?" Kichigai asked as he held up a potato peeler. "But, of course, we can't have your mind checking out on us. So I will be having you do what Naruto did to Sakura when he peeled away her flesh. What's one thousand minus seven?"

* * *

 _ **A**_ month had passed since Akira had tried to confront Kichigai. Two months since he gained his freedom. One hour since an assassination attempt had been made on him. What was left of the attacker was still all over the walls of Kichigai's office. The attacker had managed to scar his face with cuts from a sword, but he wanted them to remain. They would help keep some people on his side for now. He had even kept his face the same as Naruto's so far. He wanted people to see his face as he conquered the world, as well as keep some of their loyalty for now. And most recently, he had just given the order that would change Uzu.

Many of the shinobi had been reluctant at first, but they hadn't argued much when Kichigai told them they would end like his attacker if they didn't follow his orders. No one wanted to argue with him right now. They were all too scared right now. And while they were all scared, most had already become pawns Kichigai could use without question

Kichigai walked to the open window and watched as one of his shinobi knocked on the door of a civilian home. He inhaled deeply. "There is a taste of fear in the air." He said.

Their orders were to bring the entire village before the tower so that he could address them. If the civilians resisted, the shinobi were to insist.

"I will use an iron fist to tame them if necessary. I will use my iron fist to claim everything for myself." Kichigai said.

It wasn't long before everyone was gathered. Only a handful required insistence. Kichigai walked to a balcony where he could address the crowd. Shino was now standing next to him. The Aburame had returned the day before. Shino was ready to help Kichigai, even in this. He knew that it would help prevent bloodshed within Uzu.

Shino pumped his fist into the air. "Hail to the King!"

Most of the shinobi on the ground and many civilians raised their fists. "ALL HAIL KING KICHIGAI!"

Others who were reluctant either stayed silent or reluctantly joined in.

"HAIL! HAIL! HAIL!"

Kichigai raised his hands and the crowd fell silent. "I know that most of you are scared of things that have recently happened. I know that you are scared of the things to come. But, you should all know that there was a recent attempt on my life as part of an attempted rebellion last night. A group of people who have not been agreeing with my recent changes in management. The attempt on my life earlier today was a last try at completing that rebellion. Some of those people have evaded capture for now, but those remaining criminals will be hunted down and executed. Any collaborators will suffer the same fate. These have been trying times, but we have passed the test. The attempt on my life has left me scarred, but I assure you my resolve has never been stronger. A war is coming. But the Hokage is our prisoner and the rebellion has been crushed swiftly. We stand on the threshold of a new beginning. In order to ensure our security and continuing stability, the world will be reorganized into the first world empire, for a safe and secure society which I assure you, will last forever. An empire that will continue to be ruled by a sovereign ruler. I will lead this empire as your king. I WILL LEAD THIS EMPIRE TO GLORY!"

Most of the crowd cheered. "HAIL! HAIL! HAIL!"

"So this is how justice dies, corruption claims its greatest enemy, and greatness falls. With thunderous applause." Akira said, standing on a nearby roof.

"What are we going to do now?" Mikasa asked.

"We gather our organization," Angela said.

"Yes. Get everyone ready. We're making our move in the morning." Akira said.

* * *

 _ **Kichigai**_ was preparing one of his squads for the imminent attack on some of the lands on the border of Hi no Kuni. It had been one of the ones that had not joined Orb, instead of being an ally to Konoha. They didn't have a real military apart from simple guard training. It's why he was only taking himself, Shino, Sasori, and Deidara. This was a mission to destroy the land for now. They could go back in and take over later. Tsunade was tied up and kept in a box nearby. They were keeping her there until it was time to leave.

They were currently in one of the docks with two Shiva class airships. None of the engineers or crews of the ships were there yet, leaving the large hanger to them.

Kichigai was now wearing fearsome armor that he had found within Naruto's vaults. It was classified under the file name: The End. The helmet was black with three long horns. One angled towards the back while going up from the center of the top of the head. The other two angled downward while pointing past the front of the face from the side of his head. Two black panels stretched over and past his shoulders with large red gems above where the shoulders would actually be. His legs had black armor with thin red gems on the center of his feet. His arms were clad in black armor with the palms covered in a grey fabric to allow movement. His forearms had a mechanism near the wrists with three white claws on each that pointed up the arm. The mechanisms would flip the curved blades outward if it was necessary. His chest was covered in black armor while his midsection had blood-red metal plates to protect it. On the sides of his chest, near the shoulders, where two white metal panels.

The door burst open as Akira, Mikasa, Angela, Meizu, and Gozu entered. Mikasa was wearing light armor that was as red as her hair. The armor was only over her torso with plated over her hips and upper arms. Under the armor black clothing that was padded to still provide defense without interfering with her movement. There were two scrolls on her hips and one much larger one on her back.

"Chronicle. I'm glad you could join us. I had a mission planned for you." Kichigai said. He knew that wasn't why they were here.

"That's not why we're here. I'm not about to let you go and destroy everything. I told you once before that I would stand beside you as long as I could understand what you were doing, but the time has come for me to stand against you." Akira said.

Kichigai sighed. "What a pity. Leave us. And take Tsunade with you." The others getting ready to leave with him left, taking Tsunade's crate with them, but Akira's team stayed. "I really hoped it wouldn't come to this. Well, let's not delay. Let's get it over with."

Kichigai rushed forward and went after Angela with his sword drawn. He was stopped when Akira used his now armor-clad arms to block the attack.

"So, you've advanced that far in your work on that chakra. Impressive. This will be fun." Kichigai said.

"Watch this," Akira said as the armor covered his entire body, pointed cables hanging from the back of the shoulders. He drew his blades, which became black with red pulsing veins, and slashed at Kichigai from above. Kichigai grabbed both blades with his hands, his own armor protecting him.

Kichigai kicked Akira away and rushed forward to kill him with the opening left. He was quickly forced back when Angela brought her sword down on him. He went back in and was about to create an opening when he was forced to dodge a bladed chain. As he dodged the chain, sealing arrays appeared and tried to swallow him up. He threw his hand towards them and corrupted them with his own seals.

Akira rushed forward used his bladed to sever one of Kichigai's arms.

Kichigai moved backward before flying through his own one-handed seals. He held the hand sign in the center of his chest before the two white plates on his chest popped open to reveal several black lenses. Red lightning started crackling around each of them.

"VASCUD CRISIS!" Kichigai shouted. Red beams of light fired from each lens and started chasing each of his opponents around the hanger. One of them chased Akira as he leaped over the docked airship and tore through it to get ahead of him. The beams stopped after a few minutes. The most damage they had done was lightly searing part of Gozu's arm. Kichigai was then surrounded.

"So, this is how it ends?" Kichigai asked. He sighed before using his one hand to rip off the armor on his torso. There was a massive black seal in a fractal pattern with more seals the more it closely it was looked at. "I GIVE YOU THE MOST EXTENSIVE MUTUALLY MULTIPLYING EXPLOSIVE TAG TO EVER EXIST! I SHOULDN'T HAVE HELD BACK! BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER! IT WAS STILL FUN!"

"NO!" Akira shouted.

The entire dock exploded in the next instant. Anyone nearby watched for the next ten minutes as the explosions continued. In the end, the explosions condensed into a small ball of energy that then blasted outward and dissipated.

When the dust settled, a small barrier of black armor could be seen. Akira had his armor projected around him as he used it and himself to shield the others from the blast. He coughed up blood. "Is everyone alright?" he asked. The armor faded.

Angela wrapped her hands around him as he collapsed. "Why did you do that?" She asked.

"I needed to protect you," Akira responded. He was going to live, but he was exhausted and in far too much pain to move right now. He would need to be in the bacta tanks for weeks to heal the burns that had exposed part of his spine.

The sound of a blade piercing flesh attacked the silence. Akira looked up in shock and horror as he saw something he didn't think should still exist. He saw a blade sticking through Mikasa's chest where the heart would be. It was the owner of the blade that was impossible.

"Quite the noble act. But, in the end, it was pointless. Everyone you care about still dies" Kichigai said as he removed his sword and dropped Mikasa's body. He didn't hesitate to decapitate one of the brothers, jam the other's own gauntlet into its owner's chest, and grab Angela by the neck. He held Angela up with both hands and crushed her windpipe before dropping her.

Akira extended his arm to reach for her, even though it burned to do so. How could things have gone so wrong? He watched as Angela slowly died from the panicked asphyxiation. "How? How did you survive? How do you have both arms? What just happened?" Akira asked.

Kichigai chuckled darkly. "You want to know? I obtained my own form of immortality. You're about to die anyway. So let me tell you how Naruto's experiments opened a doorway to the inability to be killed." He took a few minutes to explain what he was and how he had survived.

Akira's eyes widened in horror. And then he died.

* * *

 _ **Kichigai**_ stood on top of the front of the Shiva class ship. He was going to burn this small country to the ground and knew the best way to do it.

"Katon: Desolation."

The violet flames sped forth and were about the make contact with the forest before a wall of crystals rose from the ground and blocked it. Kichigai stopped the flames the moment the wall appeared. The blue-grey crystals turned to dust when the fire stopped. Three clouds of sand flew into the air with a person on each. The osmium dust mostly fell to the ground, but a portion went into the blue-grey canister at Gaara's hip. Temari and Kankuro were on the clouds next to him.

"Gaara. I didn't expect you to get in my way. Not yet at least," Kichigai said.

"Nor did I, Naruto. Rather, I suppose I should call you Kichigai."

"It's King Kichigai. Stand aside Gaara. I do not want to kill you or battle against your village."

"And I don't want to fight you, but I will not let you destroy this country like you did Iron. I will not let you destroy these people to set an example."

"Then you're leaving me with no choice. Captain, take the ship to another location. I will rejoin you later," Kichigai said before he jumped off the ship and entered his Kyuubi chakra shroud. The ship turned and moved further away. "I'd rather not start out with our Biju. Let's head to the ground."

"Is that what you told Yagura when you murdered him?" Gaara asked.

"I was hoping you wouldn't know about that yet. He tried to kill me. He thought he saw history repeating itself in Uzu from his rule of Kiri. I did kill him and cover the walls of my office with his blood, but-"

"But only after he stood against you."

"After he tried to kill me! But at least he didn't leave me without a parting gift." Kichigai said before his shroud disappeared. He fell, but before he hit the ground, chakra surrounded him yet again.

"No. How did you-"

"How do I contain the Sanbi?" Kichigai asked from within the body of Isobu. "I ripped it out of his seal and used my own seals to contain him. Now, are we going to fight with our Biju, or without?"

Gaara sighed as he went lower to the ground. The Sanbi disappeared to leave Kichigai in its place.

"Good. Now let's get on with it," Kichigai said before flashing through hand signs. "Vascud crisis!"

Gaara raised another barrier of osmium that crystalized under the pressure Gaara put on it. When the beams stopped the crystals turned into blades that started chasing after Kichigai. Part of Kichigai's armor opened in the back as dragon wings grew. He quickly took to the sky and dodged the weapons. One of them went for his heart and would have hit its mark had he not sealed it in a scroll.

Kichigai flew through more hand signs as he dove to the ground. The moment he landed he activated his jutsu. "Katon: Valley of Ashes!"

Fire shot out in every direction, but it didn't matter as Kankuro pulled out a scroll and summoned ten of the puppets from his collection. When Chiyo had finally died she had given him the puppets he now wielded. The Chikamatsu puppets. The puppets easily blocked the fire.

"Konkuro. Temari. Ready?" Gaara asked. His siblings nodded. "Go!"

The fire died just as waves of sand rushed up around Kichigai and carried him into the air. The sand started swirling into the dome as Konohuro had one of his puppets fire off bombs and fire into the empty spaces while Temari used massive Fuuton jutsu to feed the fire.

"BURNING SAND COFFIN!" Gaara shouted as he crushed the sand into a much smaller ball.

Gaara unleashed his iron, gold, uranium, osmium, iridium, and tungsten dust before waves followed them from the ground. He obviously struggled to compress the elements into massive spears that stabbed into the sphere. Once they had clearly impaled every spot he condensed the material further. His siblings were brought next to him again as tears came from his eyes. He then allowed the sand and various elements to fall to the ground.

"I'm sorry Gaara." Temari said as she hugged him.

"He was our friend too," Konokuro said.

"Yes. Yes, he was. We gather here today to bid farewell to our friend. He will be missed." Kichigai said behind them with mock sobbing.

The sand siblings turned to look at him in shock.

"You didn't expect me to go down that easily did you? Watch this." Kichigai said before his Iris twisted into the EMS. Golden chakra flowed around him as his wings flapped to raise him into the air. Moments later and his Susanoo armored, sage shroud formed. "Now then. SHOW ME WHAT YOU ARE!"

Kichigai went to step on them, but he was stopped by the massive amount of sand that started forming around Gaara.

" **Your creator once showed me a truth. I gave Gaara a chance,"** Shukaku said as he formed. **"He was right. It is a shame I never got the chance to thank him. But I will thank him by avenging him. Most see you as what is left or what he has become, but you are neither. You are what the humans once viewed us as. A monster. You are the evil people once saw Naruto as. And now, I will end you."**

"How can you tell me that? Look at me. If I didn't want entertainment, I could stop you now with the EMS. So, how will you stop me?"

"Who said that we were fighting you alone?" Gaara said as part of him rose from the top of Shukaku's head.

Large bursts of chakra appeared around him as three other jinchuriki unleashed their own beasts. Utakata was on Kichigai's left, Han on his right, and Yugito behind him.

"Han. I thought you refused to fight," Kichigai said.

" **I refuse to stand by and allow you to do this. You are not the man we once put our faith in."** Han said.

"And I assume you others are the same?"

The others nodded.

Kichigais smirk grew. "Good. That means this will be fun." The wings of his shroud started beating, ripping apart the forest bellow. However, he stayed on the ground. He was just trying to put on a show of power to intimidate them.

Han charged, leaning his head down to ram his horns into the side of the shroud. Kichigai turned and grabbed the horns before pulling and flipping Han's tailed beast mode over his head. His shroud was knocked off its feet when Yugito used her tails to land a hit on its shoulder. The shroud dissipated and reformed standing up with Kichgai in its head again. Utakata got in close before rapping his tails around the shroud. He then started spraying acid in waves, creating an acrid smoke.

A moment later, a burst of wind pulsed outward. The acid was sent flying and started destroying part of the battleground. Kichigai stood there unfazed.

"I expected this to be more fun. Let's see how you vermin scurry beneath my might." Kichigai said. Three clones formed around him before they formed their own shrouds. The shrouds grew together to give the shroud a total of eight arms. The tails now looked more like the flaming end of a cloak than individual tails. Kichigai also had a full three hundred sixty degree view now. Each arm pointed outward with their hands separated. While they did that, the Kichigais formed hand signs.

" **VASCUD CRISIS!** "

The plates on their chests fired out the beams, but the fingertips of the shroud did as well. None of the targets were nimble enough to dodge them right now, but Gaara was able to manipulate his sand enough to keep Temari and Konkuro out of the way.

Kichigai smirked. The four were now trying to regenerate the holes that had appeared, leaving them wide open. He rushed in after Yugito and dug the shroud's claws into her tailed beast state. Sealing arrays flowed up his arms and through the arms of the shroud. Yugito let out a pained scream that shook the ground as the sealing arrays, and her tailed beast chakra, receded up the shrouds arms.

Yugito was in the air for a moment before she fell back down to the ground. Sand caught her before she could impact the earth bellow. It was more of a sentimental move, as Gaara knew she was already dead.

Kichigai went after Utakata next, but he was stopped by a massive wall of crystalized osmium burst up from the ground in front of him. He turned to Gaara.

" **I will be your opponent!"** Gaara shouted.

" **Not alone you won't!"** Han shouted before he and Utakata landed next to Gaara.

Gaara was surprised to see them land next to him as he had only just recovered himself because of his manipulation of sand. However, he smiled and prepared to get back in the fight. The osmium crumbled before the dust swarmed around Kichigai it a massive twister.

"That's how you want this to go?" KIchigai said before a smirk grew across his face and the faces of his shroud. "Good. Now things are finally getting interesting! But three Biju against one isn't fair. Let's spice things up!"

Two of Kichigai's clones reabsorbed their tailed beast chakra before the left face and two of the arms became a blue and black flame as he started using Matatabi's Chakra. The right face and two of the arms became more opaque and changed to a pale blue as he started channeling Isobu's chakra. Many of the tails disappeared to be replaced with ethereal versions of Matatabi's two tails and Isobu's three.

Before combat resumed, the back, left, and right heads snapped up and opened their mouths. Particles began forming as a large Bijudama came together.

" **We have to stop him. Han, Utakata, take his flanks. I'll hit him head-on,"** Gaara said.

The others nodded before taking their positions and charging in.

Shukaku's form quickly changed as the sand around him compressed.

" _ **I will trust you with this form Gaara. Use it wisely. I have let myself go over the years, but that doesn't mean I'm no longer as strong as I once was. I developed this form for when I fought against some of the faster tailed beasts, or in rare cases faster humans. Now kill this monster."**_

" _I will use my own dust to cover you."_

Shukaku's claws remained, but they became sleeker as his arms slimmed slightly. The large amounts of sand reformed to give him a more warrior-like appearance, though the beastly features and the markings still remained and he still hunched over on the hands at the end of his long arms.

Gaara shifted his elements so that they condensed into massive sheets. The gold and uranium formed marks similar to Shukaku's through the armor as it formed. The osmium recrystallized and caused massive gems to jut out of the shoulders, down the arms, a portion of Shukaku's exposed face, legs, and his now more spiked tail.

Han and Utakata rushed in and quickly restrained the shroud's arms. They quickly started forming their own Bijudama which formed more quickly because of their smaller size.

Gaara charged head-on much faster than he would have moved originally, allowing him to quickly start trying to push his hand into the shroud's head. He was trying to grab Kichigai directly as his claws slowly dug through the dense chakra forming the shroud.

Kichigai's smile grew even larger. "This just keeps getting better and better! You can keep fighting! It's even better than my fights against Akira and Sasuke! Keep going! Show me more!"

The mouths of the shroud snapped shut, instantly destabilizing the Bijudama being constructed.

" **Han, Utakata! Get out of range!"** Gaara shouted as he retreated.

Han released his Bijudama and tails to retreat, but Kichigai used his newfound freedom to grab onto Utakata.

"You're staying here to ride the blast with me! Things need to stay fun, but they need to progress too!"

" **NO!"** Gaara shouted.

The explosions caused an initial shockwave that crushed most of the forest before light kept anyone from seeing the rest of the explosion.

When the light cleared, Kichigai was standing in the epicenter of a large crater. He was alone. He released a deep growl as he exhaled. "Another one down. Let's keep going." He unclenched one of his shroud's closed hands to show Utakata's body. He dropped the body before abruptly turning around. The shroud was thrown off its feet. He had sensed the three, extremely powerful new arrivals before he saw them. The shroud picked itself up on a set of elbows as he looked at who had arrived.

"Fuu. And you brought friends. Though, I didn't expect you to turn against me," Kichigai said.

Fuu stood there in her Biju mode. B and Roshi were next to her in the same state.

" **I wanted to believe that Naruto was not really gone. I wanted to believe that you were, at the very least, what was left. But you killing Utakata showed me that you really are just a monster that has taken his place. So now, I'm joining this fight. I'm going to avenge him."** Fuu said.

"And how did you bring those two along?"

" **She came to us when she heard about Yagura,"** Roshi said. **"It took little to convince our Kage when we told them we were coming to destroy you."**

"I see. Well, believe it or not, I thank you for coming. You have minimized the effort needed for maximum thrill. So let's stop talking. Let's get on with it." Kichigai said.

Kichigai disappeared before reappearing, a massive Rasengan in one of the shroud's hands, above Fuu. Her whip tail shot up and grabbed the wrist holding the sphere. She flipped over, causing him to land into the ground. The ground shattered as he landed.

Kichigai wasn't down for long. "I was so glad when you showed up. I knew you would make this even more fun." Black spheres started forming in the maws of each face and each pair of hands. "I WAS RIGHT! THIS IS GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN! SO COME! MAKE ME FEEL ALIVE! MAKE ME FEEL WHAT I FINALLY AM! MAKE ME FEEL FREE!" And then he disappeared from sight.

* * *

 _ **Kichigai**_ limped forward. He was in pain and could feel death at the edges of his conscience, and yet, he had never felt so alive. Even his freedom had not compared to this. He pulled off what remained of his helmet, thus ridding him of his entire set of armor, so to clear the impairments to his vision. The extra three showing up had made things more difficult, and therefore, more exciting. He gripped the left side of his abdomen, trying to keep from bleeding out while his bones and flesh regenerated. He knew that if he didn't have eight Biju in his body, his missing parts of bone and lung would leave him dying.

When it was down to only Fuu and Gaara, they had all exhausted their Biju chakra. Fuu had gone down when she had killed Kichigai and had a blade through her heart and had her tailed beast ripped out a moment later. He went after Gaara, who was incapacitated for the moment but was stopped by a burst of wind. He had forgotten about Temari and Konkuro in all the fun.

Kichigai had already been worn down, so it had not surprised him when one of Konkuro's remaining puppets had blown a large hole in his left set of ribs and lung. He had been forced to summon one of his bunshin and have it kill them quickly. However, he had been unprepared for a spear of gold to shoot through the clone's head.

Gaara had not been doing any better than him. The only reason he was able to walk was because he had some of the osmium condense into a substitute foreleg and arm for the ones he had lost. One of his eyes had been shredded by, ironically enough, some of the element dust he had gotten in it. Throwing the golden spear had been the last amount of strength he had, forcing his crystal limbs to disintegrate as he collapsed to his knees.

Kichigai walked forward before collapsing in front of Gaara. "You didn't disappoint. I knew you wouldn't. I have never felt so alive. It's made even better by the feeling of death nagging at the edges of my reality." He said before stabbing Gaara in the chest with his sword. He placed his hand over Gaara's seal before a red surge of energy started shooting into his arm. "Goodbye."

As the nine Biju within his system caused his bleeding to stop rather quickly. It was the bones reforming through his already closed up flesh that caused an amazing amount of pain. He was there for another two hours before he finally got up, though not without clutching his side in pain. He was able to create a few clones that he had gather the bodies.

Kichigai touched his ear and held his finger there as he spoke. "Bring the ship around. I need a med team ready upon arrival. I need to make sure that my bones set and regrew properly. And send a signal to Uzu. Have them prep the Crest Gun. We need to pull out of here for now, but this is the perfect time to test our trump card."

It was a few minutes of waiting for the light-cruiser before it hovered above. A hatch opened along the bottom and people stepped down the ramp. They all had Uzu uniforms. Two of them stepped forward.

"Sir. We have a problem. Our shinobi were getting the Crest Gun ready, but forces from Snow are holding down the fortress." One of them said.

Kichigai growled as he walked up the ramp. There was a thin line for him between difficulties making things fun, and minor annoyances. This was just one of the latter. It was even more annoying because both solutions were easy and the less fun one he could do right now.

"Get us to the closest radio tower to Snow's border. Once that's done, have one of our people put me in contact with whoever is in charge of their forces there and whoever is currently in charge at Snow. If Koyuki Kazahana is not there, I want that reported immediately. I want every detail of the current situation. And I want either a good reason for them getting into our territory and taking over that fortress, or the heads of the idiots responsible on my desk by tomorrow afternoon. If they were taken hostage, they're fine. If no one was on guard or managing the mobile fortress units, their heads are mine. I want this fixed now."

* * *

 _ **Koyuki**_ was sitting at a war council with some of her samurai when a messenger brought in one of the portable radios. "What is it?" She asked.

"It's King Kichigai. He's requesting to speak with you."

She took the radio and spoke to one of the speakers. "Why are you contacting me?"

" _Greetings, Lady Koyuki. I will not evade the point here. You will remover your forces from the Crest Gen Fortress or the moment I have slaughtered them, the first target I point the weapon at is you. You have thirty seconds to respond before I flood the facility with neurotoxin. I'll go in myself and disembowel any who survive the first tactic. I'll keep them alive while I hang them with their own entrails, I might add. Your time starts now."_

Koyuki was too stunned to say anything for the next three seconds before she turned to her council. They were discussing it before they heard Kichigai's voice over the radio again.

" _Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock. You have five seconds."_

"Wait," Koyuki said. There was no response. She looked around before sighing. "We will not pull back our forces."

" _So be it. Commander, tell the Fugaku to initiate its attack on any and all populated areas between its current location and the capital of Snow. Then, have it destroy Snow."_

The connection was cut off immediately after that.

Koyuki threw the radio across the room. She knew what had just happened. He wanted them to hear that. He wanted them to panic at what was coming. "Evacuate as many people as possible and ready our defenses. When everyone is evacuated, then they can leave as well."

* * *

 _ **Kichigai**_ stood over the ashes of Snow. He had sent a bunshin to disembowel the forces at his weapon while he had followed Naruto's research on increasing the power of katon jutsu and flooded Snow's capital with radiation two minutes after cutting communication with Koyuki. He turned back to the people behind him. "Keep your masks up and start working on clearing the radiation, killing anyone left, and clearing the bodies. Everyone else, we're heading to Uzu. I will be firing the Crest Gun myself."

* * *

 _ **Kichigai**_ stepped over a body as he walked to the control room of the massive fortress. He walked past an opening that showed a covered hole in the center of the fortress. What was impressive was that this covered hole was large enough around to fit an average-sized village. As he eventually descended down several levels, he came to the control room of the facility.

"Ready the weapon," Kichigai said to the engineers around him.

There were loud bangs as mechanical gears and locks moved in and out of place. Large grinding noises echoed through the facility as Kichigai walked up to a thick window and looked down into the seemingly bottomless pit. That was when he saw it. He saw the metal structure rising from the abyss.

The structure rushed past as the hatch at the opening of the hole opened. There was deafening screeching as the structure slowed down. It finally came to a stop as a massive cylinder that formed the barrel of a cannon rose from the pit. The barrel started leaning down as the structure came to a stop.

"Good. Now, prepare it for firing." Kichigai said before making his way back to the surfaces.

The Crest Gun was a structure of two parts. The first and main part was the barrel that made up most of the facility. It was segmented at different intervals by stylized bands. The other part was the base that handled held the primary gears and controls. It was where the targeting, loading, and basic maintenance of the gun would take place. The back was adorned by several, visible gears that could be seen, as well as a large face on each side of the gun.

"The Crest Gun is ready to fire sir." One of the nearby shinobi said.

"Fire."

* * *

 _ **"Thank**_ you. Come again." The restaurant owner said.

"Okay." The boy said as he left the shop. His mother had sent him out for food again. He started running so that he could get home and eat the good smelling food.

He stopped running down the streets of Iwa to look at the light flying through the sky. It looked like it landed just outside the walls before everything flashed. The boy didn't know why, but he felt fear and something wet running down his legs as the light expanded and encompassed everything. Then there was nothing as Iwagakure disappeared from the face of the world.

* * *

 _ **It**_ was four hours later when Kichigai got the report.

"So it works," Kichigai said. "Iwagakura no longer exists. Good. Fire two rounds on what is left of Snow, one of Kumo, and one of Hi no Kuni without hitting Konoha. Ready our military. I have other things to take care of."

Kichigai disappeared and landed next to Obito.

"I take it you're for the statue," Obito said.

"That is correct," Kichigai responded.

"You can't have it."

"Excuse me?"

"Don't try to demand it. It's within Kamui and I will destroy my eyes if you try to take them."

There was a pause. "But you will still fight beside me?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now I have a Hokage to torture by making her watch as I slaughter her people."

Kichigai was gone a moment later. When he appeared in one of his interrogation rooms, he chuckled. Tsunade started panicking the moment she saw him.

"Great news!" Kichigai nearly shouted. "That seal on your head that's been keeping you alive through the fun stuff being gone and the fact that we don't have time to wait for the bacta tanks to work on you means that we are past the physical torture."

Tsunade clearly relaxed slightly.

"Now we are onto the mental. Children are roaming the streets now. They are orphans of a war you started. Oh, but not my streets. Everyone else's. And you get to watch as I slaughter your people," he said before releasing her restraints and disappearing with her. He was going to make her watch while the Crest Gun annihilated her world.

* * *

 _ **Days**_ had passed since the Crest Gun had been used to subdue the shinobi world. No one could challenge such a weapon as he destroyed any force that tried amassing to move against it.

Kichigai walked through the gates of Konoha, dragging Tsunade behind him by her hair. Many people watched, but they did nothing. The Uzu shinobi would kill them in an instant if they moved against him at all. But it didn't matter. They were already too afraid to do anything anyway. He eventually made his way to the Hokage tower where he got Tsunade up onto a balcony and on her knees. He turned to the crowds and smiled.

"I am your king now." Kichigai said before ripping Tsunade's throat out with his bare hands.

* * *

 _ **Two**_ years passed as Kichigai brought the world to heel. The Bahamut fortress, the Crest Gun, and every other weapon he had at his disposal had made it easy.

Obito and Itachi sat a table in a dimly lit room. Konan, Nagato, Zetsu, Kabuto, and Mei were there as well.

"If you want our help, you will give us the Gedo Statue." Zetsu said.

"Don't try making demands," Obito said. "We all know that if we don't stop him now, there won't be anything left. Now either help us or leave."

Zetsu growled.

"Now, now. We all have our own reasons to keep the world from ending right now. Let's get onto planning how we are going to deal with Kichigai."

"I can use my paths to help surround him. My Preta path can help drain his chakra," Nagato said.

"Hmm? Is that all you can do?" Kabuto asked, pushing back his hood to show his scaled face. "I can give you an army of zombies."

"Kichigai can work through the seals of the Edo Tensei," Itachi said.

"I've tweaked the seals enough that he would need an hour to examine them. And, yes, I have factored in his prowess in that field. And my...colleague Zetsu here, has brought a very valuable piece to the table."

"Madara Uchiha," Zetsu said.

"I figured as much," Obito responded. "I think we already know most of what each of us can offer. What we really need, is a plan."

"I'm sorry to tell you that this little plan of yours will never matter," Kichigai said as he appeared on top of the table.

Obito sighed. "I was too late. You're already bored with this world. We don't have time to stop the Winter Contingency."

"That is correct."

"We could still kill you," Kabuto said.

"I'm a bunshin," Kichigai responded.

"Then we can still cause trouble by standing in your way as you go on your warpath."

"No, you can't. Over the past two years, I have been working on my own project towards this end. And now, I only have one stage left. I only have one move left before this world stops existing."

"What if we provide an exciting challenge?" Obito asked.

"Go on."

"If we can defeat the real you, then the obvious reward is that our world doesn't end and we live. If you win, then your own reward is just as obvious. A fun and exciting battle and the completion of your plan."

"Interesting offer. It has been two years since I was provided with some decent fun. But I am declining your offer. I have decided that I would rather proceed with the deeper desire fueled by my most basic thought process. I will destroy the world. You have sixty seconds. Say your goodbyes to whoever you must."

The clone disappeared as its memories went to its creator. Kichigai stood at the top of the Bahamut.

"There is no dramatic and cliché final battle. There is no last bid for hope. This is where the world ends. Now then, I really must thank Naruto again. It was his own research on the sage of six paths that allowed me to use a jutsu that countered the Creation of All Things technique."

He held out his hands before he started channeling all the power at his disposal. "Ironically, you need divine eyes to create something, but destroying everything only requires power. Destruction of All Things: Unravel."

A pulse of energy went outward. The area he was standing in was disintegrated, be he remained for a moment while he maintained the point of origin. The wave spread out as everything ended.

* * *

 _ **Mei**_ hugged Ao and Chojuro closer. They were now her closest living friends.

Mei really didn't know whether or not death was painful, but she assumed it hadn't been when everything ended.

* * *

 _ **Iachi**_ kneeled in front of the graves of his parents and brother. "I should have stopped him. I let Obito convince me that we could wait. I let him convince me that we _should_ wait. I should have helped the jinchuriki when they mounted their attack on him. And now I can't do anything."

* * *

 _ **Zetsu**_ stood within the clearing, looking at the statue. Obito had allowed him to have it considering it no longer mattered.

"I failed, mother."

* * *

 _ **Konan**_ held Nagato closer. "Goodbye Nagato."

"Goodbye."

**Then the world ended**


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uploading both chapters 17, 18, and 19 today to help catch up with what I have published on Wattpad. Putting this note on all three just in case.

_**Naruto**_ listened to the drip of water as it hit the water below. He felt like there was a weight off his chest. He was still able to watch through Kichigai's eyes.

A large portion of him smiled as he watched them all die. He felt pleasure as he watched their blood fly through the air.

There was another drip.

' _I'm so tired.'_

He was able to see and feel everything. He felt his fingers wrap around Shikamaru's spine. He could feel his mussels tense as his feet forced Sakura's skull to cave. He could feel every clash of the sword while fighting against Sasuke. This was supposed Kichigai's 'goodbye gift'. Allowing him to see and feel these people as they died.

He saw the sword come down on Sasuke. A small part of him wanted this to stop. It caused tendrils to go from his arms and dig into the water he was in.

_Drip._

He noticed that Kichigai hesitated in that split moment. However, his slow and tired mind caught up to him. He remembered what the Uchiha had done and gave up again.

He could feel his face muscles pull as Kichigai smirked at his resistance. He enjoyed seeing the blood fly through the air.

' _I'm so tired.'_

Darkness closed in as he fell asleep.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ opened his eyes to find himself in a cell. The door was open, so he didn't know why he was in a cell, but he figured he was going to find out soon enough.

He sat up and found that the short tendrils from his arms were still there. The longest one came from his left elbow and stretched seven inches. They were black with red, pulsing veins and easily resembled roots.

He walked through the door of his cell to find a different landscape than one he was generally used to. He found himself in what appeared to be an insane asylum. This was confirmed after he walked out of the cellblock and down a hallway to see a plaque.

_**Mount Massive Asylum for the Criminally Insane** _

Bellow was a date of the facility's founding and a list of the four founders.

This place was an old asylum in Mizu that was run by some of Yagura's generals when he was still Mizukage. It was shut down and destroyed immediately when control of Mizu was taken from Yagura's control. The place had been conducting inhumane experiments on people for decades, even before Yagura had become Mizukage.

He kept walking, wondering why he was in this place. It was supposed to be destroyed. He walked down a hallway and came to one of the security rooms. He opened the door and walked through to find himself on a beach. This was when he remembered that he was trapped within the mind of his madness.

"Kichigai," He said.

"Yes?" Kichigai said.

Naruto turned to his madness. "What's going on?"

"Well, I have no way of just...disposing of you. I figured it might be simpler to give you the ability to walk around from time to time."

"I take it the insane asylum is your mindscape? Rather fitting."

Kichigai nodded.

"So what's next?" Naruto asked.

"Not sure yet. After all, I'm just a construct. This is your mindscape personifying your entrapment within his own. You know what his mindscape looks like, so you woke up in your own version of it. You and I both know that he will never come in here, but you also know his thought process. You know why you're able to move around. You're in your own mindscape, within his. Just like his mindscape was within yours when you had dominion. I'm just your own subconscious here to explain things to you."

"If you're my own subconscious, then why does it take you to explain what I already know?"

"For the same reason you had to ask that question. This is your mind, but it's not all here. You are also conscious on the outside of your mind, so you are sluggish and slow in both areas. That is why your subconscious manifested me. It's also why you manifested his mindscape to wake up in. Your mind is partitioned, but it still realizes that you are imprisoned. You won't be able to wake up either. It's part of your imprisonment."

Naruto nodded to his subconscious. "I can feel it. My mind isn't working as it usually does. It's slow. I'm moving and thinking sluggishly. I'm tired, even though I feel like I've been sleeping for a long time."

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ laid on his back within the small pool of water within the sewer.

' _I'm so tired.'_

The tendrils in his arms pulsed only once as he saw Gaara and the other jinchuriki die. He wanted to stop it, wanted to stop their death, but he was just too tired. The tendrils pulsed many times during the rest of the war. He wanted to stop the destruction of Iron and Snow. He wanted to stop the destruction. To stop the death.

' _But I'm too tired. I'm so tired.'_

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ sat within his mindscape, looking at the glass case that held the other parts of his mind. His mind still felt tired. His mind had actually become more sluggish as the case had cracked further. He knew that something was happening to his mind if the other parts were waking up.

There were still many asleep in the case, but seven of them were seated around him. Two more were sitting directly in front of him. While the other seven had changed features, such as hair firmly standing upwards with a prominent widow's peak, or short, blue hair that rested flat on their head, or the fact that many of them had different facial structures, the ones in front of him were mostly featureless.

The one on Naruto's left was a white, featureless version of Naruto's silhouette. It was outlined with a black haze. It had its right leg pulled up so that its knee came near its chest. It had its right resting on the knee while its left hand was entwined with the right hand of the other.

The one on Naruto's right was different. It was completely black with a muscular body and had a multitude of eyes and wide grins over his body. It was sitting in a similar position as its counterpart.

"Do you know why you are here?" the one on his left asked. It had wavy, blood-red hair that stretched to the floor it was sitting on. He had a stern expression on his face.

Naruto nodded. "Because I made mistakes. I allowed things to happen even after I said I would not allow them to."

"Wrong! You are here because of the mistakes of others!" the redhead shouted.

" **He is here because of the pain others have caused us,"** the black one in front of him said in a rather deep and ominous voice.

The white one chuckled with a raspy voice. "He is here because we are all here. And we are all here because of the experiences of our life." His form shifted so that he became Kichigai. Then he shifted to look like Naruto before returning to his original form. "I am you. I am the truth of your despair, the inescapable price of your actions. And now, I will bestow upon you the despair you deserve. That is why I'm here. I am Truth. In particular, I am our truth."

"What truth are you here to represent? And why hold hands with Suffering?" Naruto asked.

Suffering was the representation of pain, hatred, regret, and everything that made up his namesake, though Hatred and Sadness were among those around Naruto.

Truth smirked further. "There is no such thing as a painless lesson. There is a truth to our pain. That is why we are here."

"And why are so many representatives here for me to learn the truth of my suffering?"

The many mouths on Suffering's body gave large smirks. Or perhaps frowns. It was difficult to tell. The only definite one was the one on his face that was smirking. **"What do you mean? There is only one person here."**

The room spun and the other forms merged. When the room stopped spinning, showing only one thing in front of him.

"You are the only one here. We are just parts of you."

Naruto stared into the mirror. It was his mirror. His cracked mirror. Many faces looked back at him from the different shards of glass. The mirror started pulling itself together to show Truth staring back at him again, but with distinguishable features this time. It was clear that it was supposed to be a silhouette of Naruto's own form.

Then he blacked out. He could feel his mind coming together, and yet, it was also tearing itself apart.

* * *

 _ **The**_ world became white.

Naruto looked over to see Hinata next to his chair. "Hinata? You're...alive?"

She smiled. "It really doesn't matter now, does it?" Her form shifted back to Truth. "You're calling me Truth in your mind, but because I now represent most of your partitioned mind, it might be better to just call me your subconscious. It's a much closer name. Though, I suppose I could just remain in the form of Hinata. This is our mind after all."

"Why are we here?"

"We? How dull. I am here because I'm a part of your mind. You are here because of your weakness. She died, and it's all your fault."

Kichigai appeared again as Naruto was brought back to that plane of consciousness. "There are a great many people who have died, and will die, because of you."

"No. It's not..."

Things became white again. Hours passed. "No...It is my fault."

"Are you just now realizing that?" Naruto's subconscious asked. "You can sit here blaming yourself over and over, but that won't change anything. You couldn't do what you know needed to be done. That is why it's your fault. It's not that surprising, is it? Why did this happen? Coincidence? An accident? Fate? There is no such thing as fate. It's just a combination of one circumstance after the other." There was a long pause.

The subconscious spoke up again. "The actions one takes are answered by consequences waiting at their conclusion, there are no exceptions and even you cannot change this. There is no escaping the inventible. And now you are confronted with the results of your acts, consequences you never imagined...and yet, there are more to come. If these unintended consequences help to create new roads, who will bear the blame for the sins that are committed, who will take the punishment, and who will measure it out? In this world, evil can arise for the best intentions, and there is good which can come from evil intentions. How then, should your actions be taken? Every man has his day of judgment, does he not? He who allows a week will to fuel themselves, will find his own heart isolated, whether he wants it that way or not. Thus he plummets into the abyss which lies between good and evil. And who is it that creates these circumstances? Just who is it?" The subconscious being backed up. There was another pause.

"It's you." The subconscious said. "There was a quote once. 'Incompetence begets suffering.' The person who said that was right. This whole mess started out with your own naivety. You were a naïve fool, and even your own mind was able to take advantage of you. The world messed around with your mind a bit, and now we're a monster. And it's all because of you. Your foolishness is the reason you're going through all of this. If you were strong enough to kill Sasuke, Hinata would have been spared. If you had chosen Konoha and its defenders, then all the people who Kichigai has killed would have been spared. If you had been strong in that moment..."

Naruto looked up and saw Hinata die again. He cried out for it to stop.

"And there is still more to come."

Naruto saw his own hands kill the other jinchuriki, as well as Akira and his family.

"Then there are the ones you cherish most. All of them."

Naruto saw Uzu, His friends, everything he cared about, die before him.

Naruto screamed and struggled against the chains on the chair. He cried out, trying to stop the visions.

He blacked out again.

* * *

 _ **The**_ world shifted to a room in Kichigai's mindscape. There was a man in front him. It was one of his corrupted pieces of his mind. It was corrupted by Kichigai, though Naruto was unsure of which piece. It was similar to the way Truth merged with some of the others. He was scarred, withered, and bony. He was mostly bald apart from some white strands of hair. These characteristics were onsets from Kichigai's infection of the piece. He had a surgical mask on his face and a blood stained apron over his front. He was turned around to look at a table of torture tools.

"All that talking with Truth. What's the point in that? You wanna know the mistake you're making here, buddy? You think you're gonna find the truth. You think you'll uncover something, and everything will just...fall into place. Some grand revelation, that'll make sense of all these unspeakable horrors. That'll explain what could drive men to such creative extremes of inhumanity. I hate to be the one to break the bad news, but even when you think you understand what's happening here, you're only gonna be halfway down the rabbit hole. It's always been the case that whoever's holding the money gets to say what the truth is. But then, then what happens, when all the money's gone? When everything is based on debt? On credit? Come on, buddy, you can guess this one. It's faith. Money is a matter of faith. All we were ever trying to do is sell you the dream, but you can't make a deal if you've got nothing to bargain with. You gotta be inside the dream to buy it. You gotta. Have. Faith. And that's what I'm here for." The corrupted Faith said. He turned around to reveal a large torture blade in his hand. "To make you...believe."

He walked closer with a smile on his face.

Naruto screamed in agony for hours as his own mind started tearing him apart.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ could feel himself falling. He opened his eyes to see the sky above him. It was such a wonderful sky, and the wind felt great against his skin. He turned his head to see the ocean below him. Then he fell into it, sinking beneath the waves.

He floated back up a moment later, reaching for the blue of the sky. However, he surfaced to see the ceiling of a cave above him. He was now floating in a pool deep within a cavern.

_Drip._

He started sinking again. He looked down into the darkness below as he continued to sink. The darkness enveloped him. He closed his eyes, but when he opened them again, though slowly, he was chained to a chair. He could feel injuries all over his body. He then felt a hand on his face.

"Hi...na...ta?"

The hand patted him on the face. He looked up, but what he saw made his eyes shoot open.

"Long time no see, Naruto," Kichigai said. "What happened? You're all beaten up... That's hilarious."

' _I'm so tired.'_

The world turned white again.

Truth stood there, speaking as if he had never been interrupted. "You see?" The subconscious asked. "This is the path you chose. The future that you chose."

Naruto bent over and cried.

"Why are you crying? Why are you sobbing? This imaginary would that someone else created, you shouldn't be afraid of it. Do you know why? Because there's no pain here. But back to the matter at hand. You would rather forsake the world than hurt those you consider your friends. You are peace and justice. You may think that you're both of these things, but in reality, you're forsaking both."

"Stop."

"If you had killed Sasuke, you could have preserved what you truly cared about. That's what you should have done, right? In your heart, that's what you truly wanted to do, right?" Truth said. He gripped Naruto's head and made him nod.

Naruto sobbed, but it only lasted a moment. "You're right. I hate being alone. I wish...I wish I would have chosen what I know I should have. I wish I would have chosen Hinata and Uzu and my dreams and my peaceful world! I wish I would have chosen for the sake of those things. I wish I had protected those things. I should have helped her keep her promise."

"Even if it meant forsaking, killing, Sasuke, your friend? Even if it meant giving up on your dreams? Even if it meant slaughtering anyone, man, woman, or child, who stood in your way?"

"Of course. None of that could have stopped me. None of that would have stopped me. Or rather, it wouldn't have if I had chosen correctly."

"Good." Truth said before hugging him close. "Sometimes you need to forsake one thing to save another. You couldn't do that before. That isn't kindness. That's just being weak. You didn't have the strength – the resolve to turn your back on one of your friends. You see? That is the truth I've been needing to teach you. The truth your own mind has been trying to make you understand."

Naruto sank into the depths again. The waters around him spun in a maelstrom. He eventually stood on solid ground once again. He looked into the spinning walls of water in front of him. He could see the watery form of his mirror image, though it was clearly his dark self. The face smiled back at him.

"Why don't you give into him? Let him destroy this world. With all the wrongs that have been done to you, it seems like you have all the more of an incentive," his darkness said.

Naruto stood straight. "I won't let him do that. I must protect what I cherish."

The world spun faster, becoming a blur. When it stopped, Truth was standing back again.

"Do you still wish to hurt? Can you abide someone like your old self or Kichigai?"

"No...I can't. Nor will I."

"In due time, Kichigai will succeed in destroying the world."

"I won't allow that," Naruto replied instantly.

"Your friends and your home and your family will be subject to the same suffering as you. It's only a matter of time."

"I will show no mercy to anyone who tries to take them from me. Not even to Kichigai. Not even to myself."

"Do you have that kind of strength?"

"Yes."

"And what about her? Can you accept her death?"

"Yes. I will not let her death consume me. Not again. I will take what has happened and use it to shape the world, as it will shape my life."

"Then prove it to me."

"Don't you mean for me to prove it to myself?"

Truth smiled. "Now you're starting to get it."

The other forms of Naruto began to appear around him and Truth. The corrupted forms appeared as well, but as they got closer to him, they became clean again. Faith's wounds repaired themselves and his muscles filled back out. He removed the apron and face mask. His hair began to grow back out, though staying the same color.

They all fused into one being to stand in front of Naruto as a mirror image of himself.

"Well done."

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ opened his eyes as he felt himself being shaken. It was Kichigai.

"Wake up. WAKE UP! THE WORLD IS FINALLY ENDING! OUR PLANS HAVE COME TO FRUITION!"

Kichigai was expecting Naruto to still be weak. He was not expecting Naruto to punch him, sending him flying into the wall.

"I have not...come this far...to die now," Naruto said as he sat up. He was really in Kichigai's mindscape now. There was finally clarity to his mind. He stood up.

Naruto took a step and the world flickered back to the beach of Naruto's mind. The flicker stopped back in Kichigai's mind.

"How? How did you break free? You were broken!" Kichigai shouted.

"Not anymore," Naruto said. He stepped forward again and the world switched back to Naruto's own mind. The glass case was to the side. He held out his hand towards it as the glass regrew.

Naruto charged forward and grabbed Kichigai by his throat. "Not any more Kichigai. I know now what it is I must do! I know now that I must accept her death. But there is more to it. You are a part of me."

"NO!"

"You are a part of me!"

"NO!"

"I must accept you!"

"SUT UP! I OWN THIS REALITY NOW! AND I'M ALREADY DESTROYING THIS WORLD!"

"NOT ANYMORE!"

Naruto threw Kichigai into the solid glass of the case that held his duplicates. The glass held firm and Kichigai slid down to the floor.

The real world reappeared as Kichigai absorbed the power he was radiating. His eyes rolled back before he created a shadow clone that Naruto took over immediately.

Kichigai regained control over his body just before Naruto punched him.

Kichigai was up a moment later. A kunai was in his hand. As he went to stab Naruto, his target grabbed the blade. The kunai dug into Naruto's palm and fingers, causing Kichigai to smirk.

Naruto's head turned to look at him with stone eyes. "After everything else, you think something like that hurts me?" His face curled into a cruel smirk. "Now then...it's my turn."

Naruto twisted around and kicked Kichigai in the head, sending him flying.

"Did you think I would want to just stand back and watch you destroy the world? No. I'm not high on the idea of living out the rest of my days being an observer to your actions. I want the thrill that comes with actually playing the game. I love this game that people call 'life' from the bottom of my heart, and I want to keep playing on my terms, for a while longer."

Kichigai looked up at him from his position on the ground. "Look around you! There's nothing left for you to save anymore! And with the power I've gained, I've become a god!"

Kichigai was mostly right. For miles in all directions there was nothing but baron, destroyed wasteland. If one were to look far enough, they could just tell that they were at the center of a massive crater. The elemental nations had been destroyed and what was left of the oceans was flowing into the crater.

"None of what we see here matters anymore," Naruto said. He placed his hand on what became a solid wall of air.

"What are you talking about? Look around you."

The tendrils grew out of Naruto's arms again. The world cracked as the tendrils drilled into the wall of air.

"WHAT"S GOING ON?!" Kichigai shouted in panic.

"We're going back to reality."

Everything shattered. The wasteland. The crater. The world... They all disappeared. They all shattered.

They both opened their eyes to find themselves in Naruto's mindscape once again. The real one.

Kichigai charged at Naruto. However, his fist his a solid, yet invisible, barrier.

Naruto twitched his hand and sent his madness flying back at the glass case. He groaned.

Naruto gripped his throat and pulled him up by it. He started crushing it.

"N-No...please...don't." Kichigai ground out.

Naruto smirked. "I didn't know you could still be afraid of dying after becoming a god. I guess the first thing to do would be to stop you from using any power at all." He said. "I hereby seal away as much of your power as I can, Kichigai."

Kichigai exclaimed in pain as he felt most of his remaining energy being drained away. Sealing arrays clawed at Kichigai, ripping into him. Into his mind.

Naruto then held out his hand, his head hanging low. "Though, it doesn't matter much anymore. You are all parts of my mind. So, I will have to accept you. I accept you."

Kichigai tried running, but was unable to escape the white light that shot from Naruto's hand. The glass case folded in on itself. Naruto saw Truth and Suffering smiling as they faded.

When the white light faded to show the other parts of his mind no longer there.

Naruto collapsed, smiling. "It's over."

* * *

 _ **Kichigai**_ stood above Sasuke, his sword raised in a moment of hesitation. In that crack of thought. In that crack of time, Naruto experienced everything. Everything with his mind. Everything that Kichigai would do. Everything.

Kichigai faltered. He dropped his blade and grabbed his head. He was screaming in agony as he backed away.

"I have not...come this far...to die now." He ground out. One of his eyes had returned to the white sclera and cerulean iris.

"How? How did you break free? You were broken!" Kichigai shouted.

"Not anymore." It was clear that the calm was Naruto, and that the panicked voice was Kichigai. "Not any more Kichigai. I know now what it is I must do!" Naruto said as he stumbled backwards.

"NO!"

"You are a part of me!"

"NO!"

"I must accept you!"

Kichigai fell to his knees. He screamed louder for a moment.

"It's over," Naruto said. His face became calm as he looked over at Sasuke. Both of his eyes had returned to normal, but his hair had not. He sighed as he stood back up.

"Sasuke. There are two things you need to know in this exact moment. The first is that I have regained control and Kichigai is gone. The other is that I will no longer see you as a human being. You are nothing more than another object in this world. You don't have a choice anymore." Naruto said before tossing him a scroll. "You, my new pawn, will take the Hokage in that scroll and return to your village. I'm sure that it won't be too difficult to find the bodies of everyone else, and I do believe that Choji was left alone after I knocked him out. Go back and use all of them as leverage. You will seize control of your village for the next few months. Go to Konohamaru. He will help you. Tell him it was on my orders. After everything has been brought under control, you will have Konohamaru take power. He has been studying up on the responsibilities of the Hokage and how to perform them. He will be more than adequate. I will handle the Daimyo so that the politics will be out of your way. You have eight months to follow these orders. My armies will be there after that time is up. And then you will give Tsunade a public execution along with several other people. Now go."

Naruto turned and started to walk away.

"Naruto....wait....what happened?" Sasuke said.

Naruto turned back around. "Oh. I had forgotten that you are too broken at this moment to act on your own. Fine. Allow me to show you one of my trump cards. I no longer need to keep it hidden."

Naruto flew through several hand signs before pushing his hands to the ground. "Edo Tensei."

Sasuke was unable to anticipate just how many coffins would emerge. It started as one, and then three more. Then there were seven more. In a matter of seconds, there were hundreds.

The first one opened to reveal a man that Sasuke didn't recognize. It wasn't until the man opened his dead eyes that Sasuke's own widened in horror and shock. He had read about this man in his clan's archives. The man had the Mangekyo Sharingan. He was Izuna Uchiha. However, he was further shocked by the next three coffins. They opened to reveal Fugaku Uchiha and Mikoto Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha. Naruto had revived the entirety of the clan slaughtered during, and just before, the massacre. The only exception was the revived Izuna.

"Once you approach Konoha, all but Fugaku, Mikoto, and Shisui are to remain out of sight. However, the previously stated three are to remain in disguise," Naruto said. The army of Uchiha nodded.

"Now then, there are two things to address. The first is that Izuna is coming with me. Once I'm gone, Mikoto, Shisui, and Fugaku will gain consciousness. At that point, you can explain things to them as you please. Now, the second thing. Sasuke, you will follow the orders I just gave you or your village will be decimated in an instant. And do you know what I will do to you?"

"Kill me?" Sasuke asked.

"Kill you? Eh, no. Don't be obvious. I mean I'm going to kill you anyway someday. I don't want to rush it though. I'm saving it up for something special. No no no no. If you ever get in my way again, I will burn you. I will burn the heart out of you. So just remember this. From now on, you follow my orders, you kneel to me, and you will remember the power I wield. If you ever forget that, my pawn, then you will suffer."

Naruto and Izuna disappeared an instant later within the Hiraishin. When Naruto appeared in his office, he started falling forward, too tired to stay awake any longer. Hands caught him as he fell. He was about to embrace sleep when he felt the wind ruffle his hair and clothing. At first, he thought that it might be an unusually strong wind through an open window, but then he smelled ash and burning bodies. This wasn't right. Something was horribly wrong.

His eyes shot open as he craned his neck and looked over his shoulder. There was no window. There was no wall. There was no office. Most of what had once been his office was gone. Destroyed. Burned. He pushed the hands away from him, the smells in his nostrils giving him new life, and new flames of hatred. He turned and looked out. His village. Why? Why was this happening?

It was ablaze. The village of Uzu was burning.

Tears flowed down his face as he bore a look of hatred, sadness, and disbelief.

"Who did this? Who did this to my village?" Naruto asked.

Shino, Anko, Obito, and Kamaji walked up to him.

"We have a major problem Naruto," Obito said.

"Madara Uchiha and Kabuto showed up. They did this," Shino said. "And..." he said, unable to finish.

Anko sighed. "And they have Yagura and Yugito. We don't know about Killer B or Roshi, but Gaara and the others are safe. And then they left. When Madara realized that they had no way of getting the Gedo statue right now, they left."

Naruto stood there a moment. He looked out over the flames. This was it. This was where his new path began. This was where the warpath started. And when this path ended, he was going to find some way to bring Madara back to life. That way the path could end with him bathing in Madara's and Kabuto's blood. That was where this would end. An endless sea of blood. Peace could wait. And it would wait...It would wait until Naruto decided there was enough blood.

* * *

 _ **The**_ man walked down the tunnel, his head hung low. "Come on...Naruto. Did you...expect me...to go down...that easily? No. I'm alive."

The man stood in the darkness for a moment before standing up straight. His muscles strained as he started shouting.

"I'M ALIVE AND KICKING NARUTO! YOU CAN'T STOP ME THAT EASILY!" he shouted, his voice echoing in the cave.

He slouched back down again as he thought about his narrow escape. "You can't stop me that easily," the man mumbled. He pushed his white hair behind his ears, looking into the cave. His golden sclera glowed as he held out his hand. "Now the world ends. You still failed. Destruction of All Things: Unravel."

Sparks flew from his hand before he gripped his arm in pain and shouted. His power was drained considerably.

"DAMN YOU NARUTO!" Kichigai shouted. He let out a large sigh. "At least you were wrong about one thing," he said lowly before chuckling. "This is far from over."


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adding another three chapters at a time again which will catch it up to my Wattpad posting. Chapters 20, 21, and 22. And yes I'll be putting this note in all three again.

_**"So,**_ Naruto Uzumaki wants to meet with me? How interesting that my brother's inheritor should come to me of his own volition" Ochiai said. Shiina stood in the corner as she gave her report. "And you said that he is recently suffering attacks from who?"

"Madara Uchiha." Shiina said.

He sighed. "I take it that things are finally being set in motion by Black Zetsu then. You still remember the plan?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Get started. We have work to do. Start out with Bluebeard and Ryuunosuke. Oh, and get Balalaika to help you. I suspect you're going to need her help dealing with all of them"

"There is one more thing. We've been tracking his movement. He's headed for us."

"How exactly does he know where we are?"

"Probably the same way he found out about your brother."

"You think he knows?"

"Of course. The moment the barrier of Uzu came down you had me monitor Naruto's progress with finding any of Roku's records. Kichigai's first break out coincides with when the seal notified us that the vault was sealed. When Kichigai came back out, there was nothing but ashes within. I don't think someone, not even someone insane, would destroy all of that without first getting the information."

"Alright. Make sure to get Naruto here eventually. If Kaguya gets resurrected, not even our society will be safe."

* * *

 _ **The**_ man walked forward, not caring about his newly found lack of power. His face was rather slim but fit his overall structure. He had recently had his clothes made. He wore a baggy white coat, a white shirt, and white pants.

He blew a strand of his white hair out of his face as he walked towards the small village ahead. As he walked forward, he thought about how he would get his power back.

He smiled. "This isn't a mindscape anymore, Naruto. This is the real world." His smile transformed into an evil smirk. "I'll come back for my power Naruto. I've said it once and I'll say it again. This is far from over."

What little power he had left flared to life as insanity glinted in his golden sclera.

For the next hour, he set that small village ablaze. For the next hour, that village was consumed by madness. It was consumed by Kichigai.

* * *

 _ **Kichigai**_ burst through a wall. He threw his sword through the dust and into the chest of one of the people in the room. Blood and wind scattered the dust. He looked at the camera there a moment. He smiled and walked up to the device and turned it off.

"Looks like the cats out of the bag. I think I'll leave it that way. Let you rack your brain. When you do figure it out, then you'll be able to come after me. Then I have the chance to get my power back."

* * *

 _ **"Shino,**_ you and your clan send out your insects. If there are still people in the rubble, I want to know," Naruto said from his hospital bed.

Shino gave a small nod and stepped back a bit.

"Akira, get your spies out there on the other nations and villages. I want to know what they're doing."

Akira and Angela left the room to carry out their orders.

"Obito, you and Guruguru find out if Madara, Kabuto, and Zetsu are still using the mountain graveyard, but only after you warn Nagato. Madara will eventually go after the Rinnegan. Tell Nagato that I want him to take shelter here, or let us hold onto his eyes for now. We don't need Zetsu getting those eyes. Warn him that I insist. Also warn him that if he still resists, you are under orders to destroy his eyes."

Obito nodded before disappearing in a swirling distortion.

"Anko, you head to Oto and tell them what happened, and set up teams to go to the other nations of Orb and report in. Neji, I know this is going to be difficult, but find a way to take control of your clan. I don't need them causing panic right now."

With that, Anko and Neji left the room.

"The rest of you, I want not only Uzushiogakure and Uzu no Kuni, but all of Orb, completely mobilized and ready by the time I'm out of this bed. Dismissed."

When Naruto's orders were done, he was left alone. All alone except for Shino still standing there.

"I gave you an order Shino," Naruto said.

"My insects are taking care of it."

Naruto said nothing. Instead, he laid there with his arms outstretched in front of him.

"How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine."

"You don't seem fine."

"I've never been better." It wasn't a lie. His mental state was the best it had been since he was a small child.

Shino gave him a stare that said everything.

"In case you missed it Shino, one of our own is dead! Our village is just putting out the flames that were consuming it when Madara attacked! And let me remind you that at any point in time that they wish, they can come back and sink this island to the bottom of the ocean! I would say that for the situation, I'm doing pretty fucking well!"

Shino didn't respond at first, causing Naruto to sigh.

"Naruto, I know how you feel. There is nothing I want more than to allow my insects to devour Konoha and our other enemies. Nothing I want more than to leave them alive while they have colonies built in their bodies, to cause unimaginable pain that will never end. I haven't missed what's been happening, my friend, but perhaps you missed that you were not the only one affected by these events." Shino paused.

"I told you once that I would always protect you as you have protected me, and I intend to stand by your side and Anko's side until one of us dies. Just don't let what's going on consume you like you did a week ago. I had my insects watching. I'm glad you overcame Kichigai, but you almost let him completely devour you. But if you let something else consume you, then everything you have done will be in vain."

Shino then turned and walked away, leaving Naruto to his thoughts.

'I will protect you Shino. And Anko. And Uzu. I will protect it all, even if costs me my life. I have made my choice. You may have been angry that I left Sasuke alive, but believe me when I say that the moment Konoha is under my fist, Sasuke will die with his old and archaic world. He along with any other fool that stands in my way. But I wonder, perhaps I should leave it up to him.'

Naruto leaned over and pushed a button. A nurse walked in a moment later.

"Do you need something, Lord Uzukage?"

"Yes. Ask one of the ANBU outside to find Itachi and bring him here. Tell them that there is no real urgency, but I do need to speak to him."

She nodded. "Yes sir."

When she was gone, Naruto was once again left to his thoughts.

He bit his finger and formed seals before placing his hands to the sheets over him and activating the summoning and created a puff of smoke. Ryu appeared above him.

"You've looked worse," Ryu said after studying him for a moment.

"Thanks," Naruto responded. "Listen. I take it you've heard about Madara attacking."

"Yes."

"I have no doubt that somehow things are going to go wrong. From bad to worse. I want you to ask Shenron a question. I can combine my sage chakra and tailed beast chakra. I can merge them, so I want to try something."

* * *

 _ **Akira**_ walked into Naruto's hospital room and saw him talking to Itachi.

"You have the choice, Itachi," Naruto said.

"I think the choice is ob-" Itachi said.

"I don't care what you think the choice is. You can think it over as long as you want. You have two deadlines. The mandatory one is in eight months when we march on Konoha. The second is an optional one. The moment you say the sentence out loud is the moment it becomes final. So think it over as long as you can."

Itachi nodded before noticing Akira. He walked out of the room wordlessly.

Akira walked up to Naruto. "I've got a report. While we were getting the air fleets mobilized, a scout brought me something you need to see."

Akira pulled out a tripod and a large box that he aimed at the wall. He turned the projector on and placed in the semi-colored real.

"Over the past few days, someone has been carving a path through small, non-shinobi, villages in Orb's territory. They haven't left any survivors, so until now we haven't gotten an identification on who it is." He said as he turned the device on.

At first, there was nothing wrong with the image displayed. It was just the interior of a house. However, the wall in front of the camera was destroyed a second after the start. Smoke kept the person from being seen initially. Then there were screams as a blade flew through the air and blood scattered. The dust was blown away and caught in the blood. The face Naruto saw made his fa ce drain of color.

Akira stopped the film as Kichigai's appearance was shown on the image.

"Get out!"

"Naruto?"

"Akira Uzumaki. Get out of here now."

Within another moment, Naruto was alone yet again.

"Only a week. One single week I'm out of commission and everything goes wrong." Naruto said as he stood up. He groaned in pain as he slid off the bed and put his legs under him. This pain was more of soreness, but he was still healing. That bastard Kichigai had tried utilizing both Sage modes at once and nearly tore his body apart.

"So I was right. Even after everything else, you used my own most powerful and secret trump card against me. You used it to escape. But it doesn't matter. You're smarter than this. You left the camera there because you'll be gone before we can get you. You'll disappear before we can catch you. Completely off the map."

He was silent for a moment as he thought. "But where will you hide? You'll look for armor to have until you can come back to face me in my weakest moment. So I'll seek you out and find you while your own weakest moment persists, even now. But I wonder where you-" He stopped as realization hit him.

"Ooohhh. Will you go to them in seek of shelter? If you do that, on the off chance they grant you asylum...then even I can't touch you. You are, after all, as smart as I am. If I could guess that this quickly, you've been working it out for a week already. You might already be with them."

He then hummed in thought and nodded to himself. "So...I'm done resting. I have work to do, and not long to do it."

* * *

 _ **Kichigai**_ walked among the crowd as he worked his way through the small, underground village: The village of immortals.

'Honestly, this is not what I was expecting from the immortals encountered so far.' He thought to himself.

These people clearly did not have the resources to have many real buildings. Most of these people lived in large tents. This didn't mean they lived poor looking lives. They had the clothes any common villager from any other village would, if not a hairsbreadth better. The tents were more than just camping tents. They were tarps and tents that seemed like a good, comfortable living space for leaders on the move. Better even than mobile war rooms. Real mobile living quarters. Though, there were still buildings around. Closer to the center, there were more houses. It was clear that they had started improvements from the center and worked outward when they gathered the supplies needed. The house in the center was a normal home with a second story over only half the building.

However, as nice as the village seemed to be for their limited resources, everyone looked at him like he was some sort of creature walking by. He wondered why. He assumed it was because of the slaughter spree he had been on these past few days. Though, now he wondered why that would be considering what they did. He brushed the thought away as he kept walking to the center of the village.

Towards Ochiai.

When he got to the opening of Ochiai's home, he noticed a woman standing there. Shiina. He got to the door and she opened it for him.

"So you were waiting for me," Kichigai said as he walked through.

"Yes, we were," Ochiai said, walking in from around a corner. "Follow me. I have drinks waiting in the dining room."

Kichigai did as told and walked with Ochiai. As they went into the dining room with Shiina walking behind them, Kichigai observed Ochiai. He didn't look like much more than a man in a nice suit at first, but upon further observation, one could see the power just beneath the surface. They walked over to a table and sat down before Ochiai started pouring a clear liquid from a glass bottle into two cups.

"So then. You're the brother of-" Kichigai began.

"You are nothing more than a fragment of his inheritor. Don't speak his name to me," Ochiai interrupted.

Kichigai held up his hands. "Alright. Fine. Well, do you know why I'm here?"

"Yes. You're here to see if we'll shelter you from Naruto."

"And will you?"

"We have granted it to worse people before. Though, they're gone now. I can't guarantee you your shelter for too long. However, you aren't immortal. That means that, while I can tell the village not to harm you, I won't be responsible for your safety. But, you will have someone watching over you. One of our newer members. Their need for death is one of the least right now, so she should at least be able to tolerate you. No, let me rephrase that. She should be able to tolerate you not being immortal. Which leads me to my last rule of this: Don't cause any trouble or the punishment should be obvious."

"Of course. I'm insane but I'm not crazy or stupid."

"Fine. Fuu, come on in."

"Fuu? As in the jinchuriki? What is she doing here?" Kichigai turned around in his chair toward the sound of a door opening.

"No. Fuu the immortal." A woman said as she walked in. She looked like she was around Kichigai's, or Naruto's rather, age, but Kichigai knew that if she was among the immortals, she would be much older. She had brown hair in the style of a ponytail with two parts of her hair that hung down. One being in on her right side and one being in front of her face on the left side. She wore a deep pink kimono with a pattern of flowers.

"Fuu here will be your escort around here, as well as the one to keep the other immortals from forgetting that you are our guest. I do understand why they will be anxious around you, but I personally find discourtesy to be unspeakably ugly. However - you see, there are only two things that enable one of us to resist our bloodlust with relative ease. Lack of age, by comparison of course, and, once again by comparison, intensely great age. Fuu is one of the former, I and Shiina being of the latter. Now then, don't forget your place here. Other than that, enjoy your stay," Ochiai said before standing up. He gave a nod to Fuu before leaving with Shiina.

"Ready for your tour?" Fuu asked, bending slightly so that she was at eye level with him.

"Sure," Kichigai said, standing up to follow her out the back door she had come in through.

* * *

 _ **Ochiai**_ sat down in his office on the upper floor of his home. Shiina did as she usually did. She stood on the edge of the room quietly. "So? You only got back an hour ago. What happened with the cultists?" Ochiai asked.

"Their bodies are in several pieces, each piece in separate blocks of cement, and at the bottom of random lakes and the ocean. Though, some did manage to get away. Balalaika is...interrogating one of them. From what I saw last time I checked on her, she won't be much longer."

Ochiai pinched the bridge of his nose. "Is she in that whole 'blaring opera music' phase of her 'interrogation'?"

Shiina nodded. "It wasn't pretty. I can tell you that. She used some of those tools to hold their eyes open and lit flash bangs in their faces. She took one of the ones that can regrow whole limbs and repeatedly cut off fingers, toes, hands, arms, feet, legs, and-" She paused and gave a small cough. "-and other extremities. It was brutal to watch."

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ walked down the hall of the tower with Akira and Mikasa walking next to him. He sighed.

"We have too many things to deal with right now, but I need you to get messengers to Iwa and Kumo. I don't like it, but we're going to need even their help to stop Madara. Don't let them make demands. They know as well as we do that they need us. If they refuse or give you any problems, get out of there and cause as much chaos as you can on the way out. Now then, we have a few wars to prepare for. Go."

As they left, and he walked down the hall towards his office, Obito appeared next to him and kept pace. "Madara and Kabuto are still using the old base. Not only that, but I've also found out that Kabuto hasn't given Madara back control of his own body. Black Zetsu is taking care of controlling him. They also do in fact have B and Roshi. And that's not all. Zetsu attacked Ame. Most of the village is only lightly damaged, but a good portion is a crater. Konan is in a comatose state from chakra exhaustion and her wounds. Nagato had his eyes ripped out and is in critical condition."

Naruto sighed. "Not good. I don't care about the stupid conditions they set up so long ago. Send our forces into Ame to help with repair and maintaining order. Make sure they are assured that the moment Nagato and/or Konan are able to start giving out orders again, that our own forces will be following their orders. That includes the order to leave. Also, take a medical team with you. I want them up as soon as possible. The last thing I want is to be in charge of Ame for too long. They don't want us there, so let's not be there longer than needed."

Obito nodded. "Yes, sir. And you want me to lead this?"

"Yes."

"One more thing. Black Zetsu made contact with me. He said he would wait to face you until you finished your war. He thinks it better for us to come after him because they need me to get the statue."

"Very good. Now, go home and get some rest. You've been busy since we all left for the Kage Summit not too long ago. Then go. Also, there was one more thing. I never did ask Ryu or Shenron their thoughts, but why do you think the statue can't be summoned from Kamui?"

"Probably for the same reason not even you wielding the Hiraishin can't get there with all of your chakra. I still can't believe that attempting to do so almost killed you."

"Neither can I. Alright, go get some rest. I'm going to go talk with my father and mother. I can go ahead and get the rest of Kurama's chakra as well."

Obito nodded and left.

Naruto Hiraishined into his office back at the Uzukage tower. He sighed before flipping through a few files on his desk. He then turned around and used the Edo Tensei to bring Minato and Kushina up out of the floor. Their mindless bodies stared at him for a moment, waiting for orders. He stood there in front of them for several minutes before finally giving them consciousness. Minato looked directly at him, having expected to wake up in front of him again. Kushina, who was only for the first time being reanimated, looked around for a moment.

Naruto got her attention with his words. "Welcome, both of you, to my village. Welcome to Uzushiogakure."

"Yes. You didn't tell me exactly how you came to resurrect Uzu, Naruto," Minato said.

Kushina looked at him. "What are you talking about Minato? What's going on? How are we alive? How are we in Uzu? And did you say-" She stopped as she turned to Naruto. She fell silent. "N-Naruto?"

Naruto smiled. "Hello, mother. A lot of things have happened since you died. Uzu was destroyed, but after Konoha betrayed me and tried to have me executed a few years ago, I resurrected Uzushio and set myself on the warpath. But I can explain more of that later. You are both here because I have used the Edo Tensei once used by the now-dead Orochimaru and Nidaime Hokage to bring you back to life. And, to your last question," Naruto said before walking up to Kushina. "Yes, I am your son."

Tears came to Kushina's eyes as she wrapped her arms around him. "You survived. You survived. And you tuned out so handsome." She smiled as she backed up to look at her son.

Naruto smiled at her. "Thank you. However, as much as I would like to talk with the both of you, there was a specific reason for my bringing you back." He walked over to Minato before placing the palm of his hand on his father's stomach, just above the sealing array. Minato could feel the other half of Kurama being drained from him.

"What are you doing?" Minato asked.

"A lot has happened since you died. For one, Kurama and I have reached a middle ground. And in case you didn't know, Kurama is the Kyuubi's name." Once all of it was gone, Naruto looked at them and smiled. "Now then, I have some things to explain to you both. The main point of it all..." Naruto said as he went over to his desk and sat down. "is that I'm recruiting you both for my war."

* * *

 _ **Fuu**_ walked Kichigai towards a small restaurant as he had a hand to his head. "Are you doing alright?" she asked.

"Yeah. Just a headache." Kichigai said as he removed his hand.

While he was looking in her direction, he noticed that she had a tanto that matched her kimono. Attached to the tanto were three netsuke: a small skull, a pair of dice and a dog. Kichigai also noticed that her kimono somewhat hid what he could tell was her surprisingly curvaceous figure.

She gave him a small look before looking to the restaurant ahead. "I think you might like the food. It's prepared by our newest member."

She walked in through the entrance and greeted one of the people. "Oh, and is Crow working the kitchen today?"

The guy nodded to her, showed them to a table, and then disappeared.

She finally sat down as Kichigai did. They came to this place after she had explained how most of their society worked and showed him around the village and where he would be staying. A tent near hers so that she could be there quickly should it be needed. She ordered for them as the waiter refused to acknowledge Kichigai's presence.

After a while, a man came out. He was a tall, muscular man. He had short black hair in spikes to the back. He wore dark blue pants with a black belt, leather shoes, and a black, long coat.

He walked over to their table and pulled out a chair for himself. "Hey, Fuu." He said with a slightly gruff voice. "How's it been?"

As he sat down, Kichigai noticed that just above the man's right eye was a tattoo of the letters DSMK. He also noticed the two rings on his thumbs.

"Been very good, Crow. What about you? Your cooking job paying off?" Fuu asked.

"Yep. And, the best part is I get a discount on the food," Crow said.

"You cook it. Of course you do."

"Wait," Kichigai interrupted. "Crow?"

Crow turned to him. "Yeah. I know you?"

"No. But you did know Naruto."

"You know him? How's he been?"

"Actually, I'm the physical manifestation of his own insanity."

Crow gave him a strange look.

"It's true," Fuu said. "And, it's also difficult to explain. Anyways," she said, looking to Kichigai. "after Naruto told Crow to set out on his own path, he wound up here."

"Yeah, turns out that I was turned into" he paused to form quote marks with his fingers around some of his words, "a 'semi-immortal' by Orochimaru's experiments. I age on a molecular level, but the age doesn't affect my appearance or physical abilities. But, I will eventually die of that age. Also, while my healing factor is good, I can't regenerate limbs or such like most of the others."

"Well, if I ever see Naruto again, I'll inform him."

"You do that. Anyways, I'll get that food out for you Fuu. Give me a minute," Crow said as he stood up. It was after he was gone that Kichigai turned to Fuu and spoke.

"Alright, so there's a man who can manipulate his own blood here and a manifestation of madness here, and we are in a village of immortals. Here I was thinking I had thought everything out."

"Well, I learned a long time ago that there is always something stranger around the next corner."

"Right," Kihigai said, dragging the word out. "Anyways, onto something that has been bothering me. I'm the iteration of someone's madness, and I still can't believe you all have an economy down here. For people who don't exist running an underground village that doesn't exist anyways. How exactly do you make it work?" Kichigai asked.

"We pay people to leave certain amounts of supplies in certain areas for us. We pick it up and use it." Fuu said.

"And the money?"

"Bounties."

Kichigai nodded. Their food arrived and they started to eat. "So, when did you discover you were an immortal?" he asked.

She swallowed her food. "I believe it was sometime around the day I buried my eighty-two-year-old son about a decade ago."

He paused, unsure of how to respond. "I'm sorry to hear that," he said sincerely. 

_'Wait a moment. 'Sorry'? Where did that come from?'_ he wondered, realizing now that his madness wasn't as ever-present as usual.

"Don't be. It was sad, but it's one of the reasons I've been able to keep my want of death at bay and probably will for plenty of decades to come. I've had quite enough of it to last me quite some time," she said, a sad look deep within her eyes.

Kichigai looked around at the table as it had become strangely silent now. He looked and saw one of the bottles of dressing to his right. He grabbed it and smiled. "Have you ever read that really old fiction novel about the emperor guy? Caesar I think his name was."

"Yes, but I don't think he was an emperor."

"Whatever. The point is, do you remember how he died?"

"Yes."

"Good," Kichigai said before showing her a bottle of Caesar dressing with a knife he had stabbed through the back of the bottle.

It took her a moment to get the joke, but she started laughing. Kichigai smiled at her response. But instantly he stopped and looked at the table.

'Why am I smiling? Why am I worried about cheering her up? What's going on here?'

"Are you all right, Kichigai?" Fuu asked, her laughing dying down.

He looked up at her. "I'm not sur-" he said before cutting himself off. He fell to the ground, his body writhing as he gripped his head and screamed. His eyes were clenched shut for a moment as his screams got louder and more agonizing.

Fuu was over him in seconds, trying to hold him still. "Kichigai! What's wrong?!"

His response was for his eyes to open, light shining from them as he kept screaming. Then, all at once, he stopped. For Kichigai, everything went black.

For him, everything stayed that way as he floated through nothingness. But then, ground formed beneath him. He opened his eyes to see a clear blue sky above him. He clenched his fist to feel the sand in his hands. He smelled salt in the air. There was a soft crash as a wave hit the beach nearby. He sat up quickly, ignoring the pain in his head.

There was a beach in front of him, and that beach bleed into a concrete ground. The two materials were different, but they seemed to form together. On that concrete was something that told him that he was in a warped version of his mindscape. Mount Massive Asylum for the Criminally Insane.

He stood up and quickly made his way over, stepping up to the main entrance. He opened the door, expecting to see the bloody atrium with the help desk and constructed dead people. Instead, he looked at something worse.

His eyes widened as he looked at the double glass doors. "No," he whispered as he took in the massive wooden frame and shelves. "No!" he shouted as he took in the forms within. "What the hell?! That's not possible!" He screamed as he viewed the massive glass case with the many forms of himself standing within on the shelves.

"Are you sure about that?" a voice asked from behind.

Kichigai turned, his eyes widening with an emotion he didn't fully grasp. Something akin to fear. There, standing before him, was Naruto, dressed all in a black robe and barefooted.

"Hello, Kichigai. Bet you never thought you would see this," Naruto said.

* * *

 _ **"You**_ want me heading to Taki?" Suigetsu asked as he stood before Naruto.

"Yes. I will be sending you in with one of my teams. Itachi and Kisame will also be joining you. However, that won't be all. I am borrowing forces from Kiri. Chojuro and Zabuza, along with his adopted son Haku, will be joining you. And because no wielders for the Heavy blade and the Sowing Needle have been found, I will be using the Edo Tensei so that your brother can wield them and join you." Naruto said.

"M-my brother?"

"Yes. Unless you have a problem with me bringing him back with that technique?"

Suigetsu thought about it for a moment. "Go ahead. I was never really able to say goodbye to the guy anyway. But, you're sending the entire Seven Ninja Swordsmen, or at least all the swords. This is going to be fun."

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ stood before the tanks in the semi-lit room. Each tank holding a different person. A different clone.

"Release subjects five and nine," Naruto said.

The two tubes in front of him started draining as the children, appearing to be twelve or thirteen years old, had fluids pumped through several IVs meant to bring them out of their stasis. As the tubes drained and opened, the two dropped to their hands and knees and started coughing up any fluid still left in their lungs.

"Hello, my sons," Naruto said, getting their attention. "You two have so much to learn about the world. I will teach you both. For now, you must understand something important. The memories you have now are implanted, not your own. I gave them to you as tools as time is short. So I shall teach you. You are now your own lives, so you can now make memories of your own."

They stood up. The one on the left had straight black hair and pale, almost white irises and pupils. The one on the left had spiked red hair that went upward and towards the back and black eyes. The left, a combination of Senju, Hyuga, and other various traits. The right, a combination of Uzumaki, Uchiha, and his own assortment of genetics.

"You are not our real father, so why call us your sons." The one on the left said.

"You might be clones created from genetic cocktails, but unlike Orochimaru, I don't intend on using you. Not selfishly anyways. You two, along with the few others, were always an insurance policy. A legacy. In case I reach the point where I have no other choice."

"What do you mean?" The one on the right asked, his voice less stern than his counterpart.

Naruto tossed them each a bundle of clothes. "I mean that you two shall be my legacy. Regardless of genetics, you are my sons. And one day, I shall give you both your own pieces of this world. You two shall be part of what holds this world together when I'm gone."

Naruto then turned to the sound of footsteps. One of the barrier corps. Karin.

"Lord Uzukage. We have an intruder. They have entered Uzu waters. They aren't registered with the barrier and are moving fast over the water. We've sent out a strike team," Karin said.

"Good. Send them a signal to not engage. I will go myself," Naruto said before turning to his 'sons'. "I would like you two to join me once you are dressed. There is much for you to learn about the world. No doubt these intruders are spies. In the middle of a war, you must quickly learn to fight." He said as he turned to leave. "Meet me at the western gate. And please forgive me for waking you in such a time of war"

"What do you think?" The Uzumaki asked.

"I think that our 'father', from the false memories I have, would only do this if he thought there was an honest chance he wouldn't survive whatever is going to happen soon. Let's see what happens," The Hyuga said.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ was running through one of the wooded areas where the intruders were last seen, his two sons at his sides.

"Now then, the reason I combined the genetics I did was in the hope that the clans you are comprised of wouldn't die out completely. Also, it was in the hopes of performing my own experiment, though it will be the next generation that sees the results," he said before smiling slightly. "Technically, it's two experiments if the plan goes how I think it will."

"What experiment would that be?" Kureo Hyuga, a name he had decided on himself, asked.

"Where's the surprise in that?" Kagari Uchiha, also a self-given name, asked with a small smile.

"Oh, trust me. The true nature of my experiment will be revealed to you when I die," Naruto said. "Now, we are approaching the target. Are you ready? And are you sure you can manage the abilities you have?"

"I think we should take this slow to find out," Kureo said.

Kagari laughed. "Why? I say we go all out and see what we can do! Go big or go home!" he shouted before black ethereal armor with red between the plates formed tightly around his body, a samurai helmet over his head. The plates over his chest resembled plated rib bones. "Now this is how you rock a Susanoo!"

Kureo sighed. "You and I are complete opposites. But, I guess that's how brothers often are," he said before wood started growing from beneath his skin. The wood took form around him as armor as well, though his helmet took the form of many fierce faces on his face and the sides, back, and top of his head.

"So, you two really are good at that already," Naruto said.

"Of course. We have the memories implanted of how these have been used before," Kagari said. "I may be 'newly born', but I can see past the false memories into what is true. I might not yet understand everything, but, so long as you continue to be the person I think you are, I hope not to disappoint you...father."

Naruto looked at him. "Thank you, Kagari." He said before turning forward again. "Kureo. I don't know how you feel, but I hope you can come to see me as family. I hope...I hope to not disappoint either of you."

A moment later and they burst through the trees to stand before their target who had stopped just before their arrival. Naruto looked at them. A large group of them. Dozens. Each one bearing Iwa or Kumo headbands.

"What business do you have here? You have only a few moments to explain." Naruto said.

"The Orb Union is to surrender to our nations," one of the Iwa shinobi said, stepping forward. "Surrender to Iwa and Kumo and they will guarantee that only a few of your people will die. All you have to do is submit."

"Submit? That might be a bit hard," Naruto said. "Orb has its reputation to uphold."

The man looked at him sternly. "Choose your next words carefully. After all, we've already taken down Taki and put it in a hold."

"Excuse me?" Naruto said, his voice becoming closer to a growl.

"Yes. We even brought you something," he said before opening a scroll and unsealing the head of a man. The leader Fuu and Kakuzu had tried to put in charge until they could get full control of the country. "Don't worry about your friends. Kakuzu was given to our new leader of Taki as a gift, and Fuu was sold for quite the hefty price. So, what do you think? As I already said, most of your people will be killed if you refuse. If not killed, then enslaved. And by killed, I mean like that bitch the Uchiha cut down when that Konoha team tried to kill you. And when we go after you, it shouldn't take much to get Konoha to lend us their full support."

Naruto looked at them before dark red chakra exploded outward, forcing even his sons to shield their faces. When they could, they uncovered their faces to see Naruto standing there in his six-tailed form. The odd angle his legs were bent at and the way his back was slouched gave him the appearance of slightly crouching.

"I should kill you now," Naruto said.

"What the hell?!"

Naruto smirked. "You bring the head of one of my representatives to the steps of my domain. You tell me my friends have been given away. You insult my dead family. You threaten my people with slavery and death! Oh, I've chosen my words carefully, fool. Perhaps you should have done the same! Now...my sons...." He said before the form started receding. "My sons. Move."

Naruto instantly moved forward as he finished, shoving a Rasengan into the face of the one who had been speaking, causing the skull to explode. He then drew his sword and started ripping into his opponents.

Kagari had turned completely serious and was using taijutsu to take on his opponents. He broke arms and ribs as he took down one enemy after another, though killing none so far.

Kureo was using vines from his wooden armor to tie up his. He would also block attacks and knock some out with taijutsu.

A Raiton jutsu fired past Kagari and Kureo. As Naruto finished everyone else, he saw them go to kill this last man who Kureo had used vines to pull to the ground. He rushed to them.

Kagari drew his Susanoo's sword as Kureo formed one from the wood armor. They both went to impale this last man. However, just before the blades pierced him, they felt a hand around each of their wrists stopping them. They looked to see their father holding their wrists.

"I shall not allow you to kill someone yet. I will not allow you to lose that part of yourselves so soon."

"Father?" Kureo said.

Naruto smiled. "You were only awakened an hour ago, but still, that is the first time you have called me 'father'." He then released their wrists and let them pull back before picking up the man they had tried to kill. "This man...we shall drop you in a deep dark oubliette. You were fools for coming here. Even bigger fools for bringing me this threat. I think I'll torture you and then send you back in several body bags. The others too." He then started laughing. "I guess that diplomacy has failed, considering my trying to get their help in dealing with Madara."

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ sat down at the small ramen stand, his sons beside him. "Do you know why I engineered you to have as much power as I did at so young an age?" he asked them.

"That was something I was wondering about myself," Kureo said.

Naruto gave a small smile. "I did it because there isn't enough time to let you go through an academy. With the way things are going, I'm going to need you ready for everything. I need your help in forging the world."

"Why are you so obsessed with creating a perfect world?" Kagari asked.

"Perfect world?" Naruto asked before laughing.

"What's so funny?" Kagari asked.

Naruto's face grew a small smile. "There is no such thing as perfect in this world. The world's not perfect, but it's there for us trying the best it can. That's what makes it so damn beautiful. That may sound cliché, but it's the truth. The average person admires perfection and seeks to obtain it. But what's the point of achieving perfection? There is none. Nothing. Not a single thing. I spit on perfection! If something is perfect, then there is nothing left. There is no room for imagination. No place left for that person to gain additional knowledge or abilities. Do you know what that means? Only despair. It is our job as human beings to create things more wonderful than anything before them, but never to obtain perfection. I'm not after a perfect world. I'm after a peaceful world. A better world."

"That...what more complex than I was expecting," Kureo said.

"Yes, but that's not the answer you were looking for. The answer to Kagari's original question. I am obsessed with creating the world I am because it is all that's left for me. I spent my whole life trying to achieve a better world, and this is what I've come to. I can't create a perfect world, nor do I want to, but I will make a better world. You see, I decided on that path the moment I read a certain quote many years ago. 'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.' This is meant to say that this world is not ours to do with as we please because our parents, the previous generation, left it to us. It is ours to mold for the better because soon, we shall be the previous generation leaving something worth leaving behind to the next generation. That...that is my dream. My goal."

Kureo smirked. "Once again. That was far more complex than anything I was expecting. Now then, my question," he said, turning completely serious. "What exactly are we? Apart from your insurance policy? Are we really human? Do we have souls?"

Naruto stopped smiling except for a small, sad smile at the corners of his mouth. "That is a sad question, and a question in which I can only speculate to. But you want my answer? Here is my answer. What are you apart from my insurance? My sons. Are you human? Only you can answer that. Genetically you are human. However, humanity, in my mind, isn't determined by genetic coding. It's determined by how you act and live. You forge your own humanity regardless of what your origin is. And your souls? The only way to know is to die. But I will show you how to see for yourself the next best thing. Are you both ready to see that?"

They nodded.

"Always remember. You can feel it if you hold your hand against your chest." Naruto said as he placed his hand against his own. "It belongs to no one. It's our pulse, yours and mine. This is what brings us to the truth. It's what proves that we are the very world itself. Follow your instincts. The answer is already there."

They held their hands to their chests. Kureo spoke. "That is...At first, it seems as nothing more than the needed beating of the organ necessary for our life to continue. But then, then I realize what it is. It is a heavy burden. A heart. Not the physical organ. The true meaning behind it."

Kagari nodded his agreement.

"Now you're starting to get it. A soul is something you must feel. I can't tell you what your purpose is beyond me."

"What you're saying," Kagari said. "is that, in the end, it's our responsibility to discover our true lives."

Naruto's smile returned. "Precisely. Now then, how would you two like to stop discussing philosophy and go do something fun?"

"Like what?" Kureo asked.

Naruto smirked. "Do you two know what sky diving is?"

* * *

 _ **Kichigai**_ woke, his head still hurting. He sat up, now in his tent, and laying on a cot.

"Damn it. No power, forced into hiding, and now my mind is fragmented. This is a load of-"

He was cut off by someone walking into his tent. It was Fuu. She walked over to his bedside and sat down. She had a cool wet cloth in her hand and started patting his forehead with it, making him realize that he was extremely hot and sweating.

"You were overheating a lot over the last few days, so I've been taking care of you," Fuu said.

"Last few days? Exactly how long have I been out?" Kichigai asked.

"Seven days. You started getting better yesterday and I figured you would be awake today."

Kichigai hummed in thought. "So now what?"

"Well, usually we would have already started you on a schedule for your chores and workload, but me and some of the others have a free day. I got Ochiai to set this as your free day so that you could get used to how things work and even get to know some faces. He said that the only reason he would allow it was because you had been asleep in such a poor condition for so long."

"Alright. I still have a splitting headache, but I'm up," he said as he finally moved and stood up.

Fuu smiled and stood up with him. "Well, as long as you can function."

"You said something about getting to know some faces?"

She smiled. "Yeah, I got some friends I wanted you to meet," she said before grabbing his arm and pulling him out of the tent.

Once they were up to a certain pace, Kichigai was matching her speed and walking beside her. It wasn't long before she had him on the other side of the village at one of the cave entrances. There were a few people waiting for them. One was Crow.

Another was a young man in his mid-20s. He was tall and lean, and had reddish shoulder-length hair. He dressed in the garb of a Japanese monk, though the black robe had red flames on the shoulders and along the trim, and wore Buddhist prayer beads with a skull attached to it. On his back was a large guitar case. As much as he was dressed like a monk, he also had a cigarette in his mouth.

Kichigai saw one sitting over in a corner. He had a black leather jacket with red and white tribal markings. His head was covered by a black cloth and a pristinely white, and expertly realistic, skull mask that curved back over the top and sides of his head. His eyes could barely be seen through the sockets of the skull. His eyes had black paint around them and had grey irises. He wore baggy black pants and large boots.

"What's up with him?" Kichigai asked, pointing to the man in the corner. He was carving into a piece of wood.

Fuu looked to where Kichigai pointed. "Oh, him? We call him Skull. He doesn't talk much and we never did get a name from him. He's a bit of an asshole, but you'll get used to it. If you want a nicer way of saying that, he's a good guy once you get to know him."

"Skull? Why's that? Because of the mask?"

"Well, not exactly. First of all, that's not a mask. He always keeps it polished and such, but that skull is real. It was altered a bit to fit on his face, but it's real. Not sure where he got it though. Like his name, he doesn't say much about himself. And we call him that because he was a lot more dramatic when he got here. He walked into the center of the village, a bag of skulls over his shoulder, clean or dirty, covered in new or old blood if dirty, and dropped them at Ochiai's feet. All he said was, 'where do I sleep?' His voice was filtered through some device or seal or something. It took us three months of him being here to find out that the skulls belonged to a group of mercenaries, bandits, murderers, slave traders, your usual scumbags. He had spent a little over a year hunting them for killing a group of people he had been living next to. There are two things that set him apart from anyone else you will meet here. The-"

She was cut off as Skull disappeared and reappeared in front of them. He spoke in a gruff, deep and dark, and synthetically filtered voice. "One: I'm the only one here who has ever bested Ochiai. Shinna doesn't count as that was a tie. Two: I do not need to kill." He then disappeared back into his corner.

Fuu sighed. "Like I said. You'll get used to it. Anyways, let's get over there."

They walked up to Crow and the one with the guitar. They were talking, however, they stopped and instantly turned to Fuu. They hadn't been talking. They had been arguing. They shouted the same thing at her in unison.

"Aren't I the better shot?!"

Fuu sighed. She mumbled to herself as she rubbed her temples. "I'm getting so tired of this shit." She then looked up at them. "Crow! Genkaku! If you are going to keep arguing about this, just have it out. Do some target practice?"

"I missed something?" Kichigai asked.

"No, you didn't. These two are just stupid." Fuu said.

They looked at her with exasperation. Crow whipped his face and sighed. "Fine. Let's have it out. Come on, let's set up the targets."

Genkaku gave a small smile and leaned backward. "Alright, let's go. You coming, Fuu? You too, Kichigai?"

"She said she wanted to introduce me to you guys," Kichigai said, somewhat puzzled.

"Nope, you need no introduction, man. We all know who you are. Name's Azuma. Azuma Genkaku," Genkaku said, holding out his hand.

Kichigai shook his hand. "So, what's up with the monk getup? Don't look like much of a monk to me."

Genkaku smirked and leaned back on his heels. He instantly had his guitar out. A V guitar with a black and red body. He struck a chord.

"Dude! I'm an uber-monk!"

"Genkaku! Come on!" Crow called from the tunnel.

Genkaku gave a small wave and turned around

Kichigai then looked at Fuu as Genkaku followed Crow up to the surface through the entrance. "You said there were some friends you wanted me to meet. I assumed there were more people."

"Well, Balalaika is...let's just say she's busy. And then there's Kuroh. I'm not exactly sure where he-"

Someone dropped from the roof of the cave and landed in front of them. There was the sound of a blade being drawn. Kichigai gripped his own sword as a blade was placed against his neck.

Kichigai took note of the ornate blade. A katana with black tsuka ito weave and a bronze kashira. It had a black guard with a red blade of steal. The scabbard was a dark blue with a bronze tip and attached to the hip of the wielder.

The one wielding the sword was a young man. He was a tall young-looking man with long, black hair tied into a ponytail, and his bangs swept away from his face. He wore a long, black jacket with gold trim. The jacket was open with an upturned collar and rolled-up sleeves. He had a white, button-up dress shirt underneath, the top two buttons were undone, leaving a loose hanging necktie. He wore normal black pants and white shoes.

"My late master gave me one simple order upon his death. When faced with an evil man, I am to kill them. As per your actions in the past, you are most certainly an evil man," the man said.

"Wait, Kuroh. Ochiai is letting him stay here." Fuu said, trying to get between Kuroh and Kichigai.

"I know who and what he is. That is why I'm going to end his life. I care not for words, but actions. It's not about a man's appearance or even what's on the inside. I judge a man by his actions."

"Careful. Ochiai's rules," Skull said, appearing behind Kuroh. He moved the skull on his face so that his mouth was uncovered before taking the wood, which he had now carved into a small instrument, and placing it to his lips. He played an off-key note and let out a small sound between a thoughtful hum and an angry growl. He then took his knife and started carving more into the instrument as he walked towards the surface.

Kuroh sighed and sheathed his sword. "If I didn't respect Ochiai as much as I do, you would no longer be alive."

Kichigai sneered. "Noted."

Fuu sighed. "Come on. Let's go watch Crow and Genkaku have it out."

They all turned and followed the others up to the surface. As they got closer, they went down a branch tunnel that eventually came up to the surface just outside of a training field.

"How exactly do you have a training field up on the surface? Aren't you afraid of being found?" Kichigai asked.

"Nope. Ochiai has barriers put up all over to block sound and any significant and sudden bursts of light." Fuu said.

They entered the training ground and saw that they were getting ready, the targets all set up.

"Now let's see which of us is better," Crow said. Blades popped out of the rings on his thumbs. He used them to cut open his forearms. Blood shot out and fired forward, slashing several targets down the center.

Crow sneered. "Dead center."

Genkaku chuckled. He pulled his guitar off his back. He then aimed the end at one of the targets.

"That's nothin'. Watch this," Genkaku said. He strummed a chord, causing the end of the instrument to open up along with the body. He reached into the body to grab a handle and pull the trigger that rested there, firing a burst of air that tore through the center on the target. The entire center was gone. Within seconds the guitar split in half down the center. He held two mechanisms in each hand that quickly fired rapid bursts of air at several targets, each burst hitting the center of a target.

"How about that?" Genkaku asked, turning to Fuu.

They heard a soft note being played and turned towards Skull. He was playing a low tune on his wooden instrument. He stopped and pulled the skull back over his face. He looked up and them all. "Pathetic." He said before snapping his fingers. With the snap that he produced, the entire field of targets exploded.

The others covered their eyes for a moment before the light and wind died down. Crow turned and looked over at Skull.

"What the hell was that?!" Crow shouted.

"That was one hundred percent accuracy," Skull said before he disappeared.

Genkaku leaned back on his heels and chuckled. "Man that guy's an asshole."

Fuu walked over to Crow and Genkaku and pulled them in closer. "Yeah, but he's our asshole," she said with a cheery tune. "So, it seems you're both tied for second behind Skull. Let's get drinks and celebrate."

"But he cheated," both of her friends whined in unison.

Fuu strengthened her grip and started dragging them along. "Get over it." She then looked over her shoulder at Kichigai. "You comin'?"

Kichigai just stood there a moment. _'What the-? We just got up here.'_ He then jogged to catch up them as they headed back underground.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ stood in his office in his home. He flipped through some of the pages in a file he had. It was labeled with two words. 'END GAME.' He sighed as he took a pen and wrote a few words on the last page. He then closed it and set it down on his desk.

He loved this desk. It was such a wonderful desk. He thought about what he was going to do for a moment. He picked up the folder and placed a hand on the desk. He sealed it into his palm, deciding to move it to a scroll later. He then dropped the folder down where the desk used to be.

He took note of the spots where there was no dust due to the desk having been there for so long. He sighed and looked around. So many memories in this one room.

"That's it. I can't see any other way around it. No matter what I do, there is no other way. If I've run the numbers correctly, not even the Destruction of All Things will damage a being made of chakra so dense. Shino won't like this. And I'll be lucky if Anko doesn't kill me."

He looked around. Stacks of files. So much work. Everything he had done over the years. He sighed. A tear rolled down his cheek. He fell to his knees, surrounded by the culmination of years of planning. And he felt...he felt so empty in this moment.

Then everything else came flooding back in. Everything else he still felt. Everything else he still needed to do. He wiped away the lone tear before standing back up. He looked around.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small matchbox. He walked over to one of the unlit oil lamps and picked it up. He threw it into the ceiling, causing it to shatter and send oil everywhere. He walked over to the door and opened it.

He stood just outside the room for a moment before taking out a match from the box. He scratched it against the side of the box a few times. It didn't light. He cursed before striking it harder. It lit. He looked back at his office. A wind blew past him and ruffled the pages the folder. His final folder. He saw words on different pages.

'Must protect....' '...defend...' '...strike fast and retreat....' '...destroy northern flank...'

Then the final part. The last page. The last sentences on the last page of his final plan. The wind stopped it on the very last page.

'Final part: should she be reanimated, and failure to stop her rebirth is almost certain, fight her off while building up power. Do everything in power to destroy her. Final step to the final part: with the expenditure of power required, die.'

He knew the words but read them anyway. Over and over and over and over. He then felt a slight sting on his fingers. He looked down at his fingers to see that the match had burned down to his fingertips before extinguishing. He then threw away the match and lit a new one. This time he didn't hesitate. He flicked the match into the room. It landed on one of the files. It smoked for a moment before it extinguished. He sighed. This time, he tossed the match on to one of the oiled spots. It finally lit. The room was instantly up in flames. He closed the door and applied a containment seal.

Naruto sighed. "No more plans. This is it. Now, there is only the end game."

* * *

 _ **"Naruto,**_ is this such a good idea?" Shino asked.

"What do you mean, Shino?" Naruto asked as they stood before the room full of clones.

"Everything. These clones. Your plan for the immortals. Your mobilization of Orb. And then keeping that from everyone. I'm not pleased about the fact that you haven't used it, and the only reason I haven't killed you for not doing so is that you are my friend and I am trying to trust you. That, and I don't have the reserves to do it myself."

"Shino...are you willing to trust me until the very end? I have a plan laid out because I have no doubt that certain things are about to happen. And...and I think that I will use it. Right there at the end of all this. Shino. I have a feeling that the path I walk..." He paused and let out a deep sigh. He turned around and walked towards the door but stopped to place his hand on Shino's shoulder. "When this all ends...when we finally win...when the world has turned into what you, me, Hinata, Anko, and so many others have dreamt of for so long...it will be in that moment that I will lead my own path...and in that moment, where I lead, you cannot follow. Do you understand?"

"What are you saying Naruto? What are you planning? Where exactly do you intend on leading?"

Naruto didn't respond as he kept walking down the hall that lead to the exit. He got to the door just before his voice echoed through the hall and the chamber. "If things go the way I think they will, then you'll know soon enough."

The next sound was that of the door opening and closing.

Shino sighed. "I don't know what path you're talking about, but you should know something. Whatever path you take and wherever you might go, I will follow you, my friend. Me and Anko will both follow you wherever you-" He paused as realization hit him.

"Please tell me you don't actually believe that's going to happen. You're telling me that that's the path you intend to take? And let me guess; you have every intention of making sure Anko and I don't follow you. Oh well. I guess that if the worst comes to pass, I'll have to make sure that I'm the one leading that path."

* * *

 _ **Kichigai**_ stood in a bar next to Genkaku, who was leaning against a table, as they waited their turn on a dartboard. Crow had managed to get all of his darts into the center of the board and Fuu was working on her darts, though they mostly hit around the rim of the board, causing her to mope.

"So, what exactly is this village of immortals? Some of the records I've read were never clear. And then Kakuzu said this was the true extent of Hidan's cult," Kichigai said.

"Well, that cult has been allowed to stay here for the past few decades out of hospitality," Genkaku said. "Not only that, but also so that they could be managed. It allowed us to keep an eye on them. Man, they could kill entire nations in a night if they went unchecked."

"Well, what were your thoughts of them?"

"This place was always to help people who were immortal keep sane and find a purpose. Those guys were all about death for the wrong reasons. Sure I kill because I sometimes need to, but I have another reason for it. Don't get me wrong, I know this reason will never truly make what we do right or make up for some of the wrongs I've committed, but it's really all I have in the end."

"And what reason is that?"

"We don't think twice about putting a wounded animal out of its misery, right?"

Kichigai shrugged. "Yeah, so what?"

Genkaku's face curled into a sadistic grin. "Well, why are people any different? Until I'm saved, this is what I do. Releasing my fellows from the bonds of fear and oppression, from the shame of betrayal; I'm a saint, man! I erase contempt; regret, sorrow, insanity; all the burdens of life! I just wish someone would be kind enough to do as much for me."

"I think you mean you wish someone kind enough to do so who can do the same for you."

His face faltered into a sad smirk. "Yeah, that too. But think about it. We have all these problems that fade away with death. When I kill, I'm helping someone find peace."

"I'm sure the people you kill don't see it that way."

"The world is always resisting change. Especially change for the better."

Kichigai picked up a drink. "Can't argue with you there," he said before drinking from his glass.

* * *

 _ **Kichigai**_ opened his eyes, and sat up. He clutched his head. The past few nights had held nothing but headaches as he was forced to scream at his mind that what was happening couldn't possibly happen. It had gotten worse over the last few months.

'This is the price of owning your own life. That price is the heaviest burden any human being can ever carry.' He remembered his mind saying to him.

He sighed. He had work to get done. His chores for the day. There was a knock on one of the wood posts of his tent. He sat up. It was Fuu. She was the only one who ever bothered to stop by. Over the months he had been here, only she, Genkaku, and Crow had actually interacted with him. He did have to say though that he enjoyed hanging out with them. He had, however, still hated Crow for showing him just how poorly he handled his liquor. Same for Gankaku giving him that strange smelling cigarette. He figured it was a regular as Genkaku was prone to smoke, but Kichigai had asked about the strange scent of the cigarette, Genkaku had just said that it was a special occasion.

What Kichigai had later found out was that this special occasion was that of a new immortal being recruited. Apparently Genkaku had ripped the girl's internal organs out only for them to drag themselves back inside her body and her torso to seal shut. Genkaku was so impressed that he had literally carried her back to the immortal's village.

Coming back to himself, Kichigai got a shirt on and walked over to the opening. He paused as he went to pull back the flap. He gripped his aching head for a moment. A series of images flashed in his mind.

Naruto stood in his mind as his flesh started to fall away, along with his clothing. There, stood a white silhouette with the vague outline of Kichigai's own self. Naruto had willingly embraced his truth, and now Kichigai was forced to endure his own.

"Would you like to know the Truth of your despair now?" Kichigai's Truth said in a slightly raspy and childish voice.

"The truth is, that you, with a body of your own, now carry a truly heavy burden. That burden...is a soul. The soul that you now carry is your own. So now that you have a soul, you must now carry a similar fragmented mind as your original, as Naruto. That is why you are experiencing nature other than your own original piece. Because now...now you must deal with a new one."

_'Is that why? Is that why I'm feeling this terrible pain? My mind being fragmented like his?'_

"No! You are so foolish to believe you are like him. Your mind is fragmented, yes, but never compare your situation to that of the original. Your mind is fragmented because of reasons you will know soon enough."

_'And when I do, can I finally cast off these pathetic feelings growing for that woman?'_

"That is one of many possibilities. However, you might not survive long enough."

_'Why?'_

"Can you not feel it? Naruto is here."

_'What?!'_

Kichigai looked up and walked out of the tent. As he expected, Fuu was standing there, waiting for him.

"I need to see Ochiai," he said.

Fuu was shocked for a moment. "H-he's in a meeting right now," she stuttered out.

"With who?"

* * *

 _ **"Tell**_ me, why do I feel Roku's chakra radiating from you?" Ochiai asked.

"He left it to me as his parting gift from this mortal coil," Naruto said.

The two were in Ochiai's office. Ochiai himself stood at a window looking out over the village while Naruto sat in a chair offered to him.

"So he finally managed to die? Good for him," Ochiai said with a small smile.

"Did you know him throughout his many years as the first Uzumaki?" Naruto asked.

Ochiai laughed. "Left me out of his tales of valor did he? Oh well, I was never on the valor side of his exploits. I once offered him a place here. I was founding this place around the same time he was developing Uzu. But, there was a particular reason I laughed at what you said. You called Roku the First Uzumaki."

"And you find that funny?"

"Yes," Ochiai said before turning around to look at Naruto. "He may have gained the Rinnegan and the ability not to age, but when I was born, I was given true immortality. Why? Because I am the First Uzumaki." He then chuckled at himself. "Though you could say that we were the first Uzumaki. We were born to the same day, but Roku Uzumaki was my younger brother by a few minutes."

Naruto was shocked by that information. "You? You're an Uzumaki? Roku's brother?"

"Yes. Its why, long ago, I tried to bring him here. I was always of the mind that immortals should stay together so that we could find some semblance of life. We needed to kill so that we wouldn't lose our minds to the madness of never-ending life. So, when my brother 'died' to leave Uzu and try to carry on his 'good work', I tried to convince him to join us. He refused. And in the end, he wound up standing in our way on more than one occasion. There was once a time when most of our people were still in the middle of their new lives and death was something they craved like a dehydrated man craves water.

"I was trying to get them through that rough time and led them to attack a village. Now, that village had long been home to a group of rogue shinobi and bandits for several years, but Roku tried to stop us from attacking for the same reason most people hadn't attacked at the time. Civilians, hostages, and the bastard children those rouges had dumped on the whores and forced," he snarled the word with loathing.

"That they forced on any woman they wanted. They were monsters. I was old enough by that point that I could last on just killing one even though it had been years since my last kill, which suited me just fine considering I wanted the leader myself. So we get there, and who's standing in the gate? My very own brother. He didn't want me to bring the immortals into that village because we both knew that they would tear the place apart, killing even the civilians. I could accept that because of what that village was turning into. A cesspool of filth. The people there had become broken and complacent. Roku...he couldn't accept that."

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Naruto asked.

"I'm trying to explain to you why I've been having some of the immortals go after you and Roku even though only a few knew who Roku was or why he was able to kill immortals," Ochiai said looking toward the floor for a moment. He then pulled out his own chair and sat down.

"He always tried to play it off as his own version of the Particle Release, but you and I both know what it really is. It's the same thing you've been spending the past few months trying to replicate with Roku's chakra. I believe you call it the Destruction of All Things. He would always use a very low power form of it to fight immortals. Funny enough, as much as we all wanted to die, we fought him rather than accept what he was doing. Do you know why? Because we had found meaning here in this village. So, I was forced to fight my own brother when he stood in our way. But even he couldn't stop us with me being his opponent. I was the one immortal he could never bring himself to kill. The moment I realized this, I used myself to block him when he tried killing anyone running past him and into the village. It's also when he resurfaced recently, I was so quickly after him. I'll admit, sending Bluebeard and Ryuunosuke after you was a mistake. Those two were always just under the same level of instability as Hidan, but they were controllable. To an extent anyway."

"So all of this so far, attacking me and looking for Roku, was for what? To make him join you? To kill him? What was it all for?"

Ochiai turned his chair to the side so he could look out the window again. "You know, all these years and I've never been able to figure that part out. I was never able to decide what to do with him. But....."

"But now that he's dead..."

"Yes, now that he's dead, the question that remains is 'what now?' I don't know. All my life I've been trying to create a society where people like me and my brother can earn a purpose. I sometimes can't help wonder if my only purpose in creating this place was for my brother's sake, trying to get him to accept that what I was trying to do was all for a good outcome, to bring together people like we and teaching them to control or move past the urges of death, but now I'm not so sure. All I can do now is try to keep going with it. Try to maintain."

Naruto gave a small grunt. "You sound a lot like me. Trying to endure. To make sure that what you wanted to create sees the end of the struggles."

"Yes, but with me it's different. I was never exactly sure what I wanted. This just wound up being what came of it. I wanted this, yes, but at the same time, I was never sure."

"How exactly did this come to be?"

"How did I come to form this place? I was traveling after our parents died, mine and Roku's, and still was unaware that he and I were not the only immortals out there. I was ignorant back then. And then I eventually found the one immortal I know of who's older than I. Shinna. Originally she was a monster, always killing anyone who came across her path. Though that was usually few considering she liked to keep to herself. But, as old as she was, she wasn't as powerful or quick to heal." He stopped to chuckle a bit. "You should have seen her face when her fist was through my head and I was still talking to her. I grabbed her hand and was eventually able to get her to listen. It wasn't until years later that I was able to start bringing her over to my way of thinking. And so, that's how it went. For years we went, picking up immortals and anyone like us along the way. Kind of like we picked up your friend Crow recently."

"Crow? He's immortal?"

"More like...half-immortal. Amazing healing factor, long lifespan, but he can be killed and can't regenerate limbs or whole organs, and while his age doesn't exactly show, it will eventually kill him. All thanks to Orochimaru. I'll let you talk to him later. But for now, you and I both know that we have more pressing concerns. Kichigai and Madara."

"Madara first. Kichigai I can handle later. Besides, as long as you're sheltering him, I can't get to him. As for Madara, yes, I was hoping to gain your support on that matter. In such a situation, I think that people as unpredictable and sadistic as Bluebeard and Ryuunosuke, or anyone from their cult for that matter, could be exceedingly useful."

"They could, but I've used my own methods of disposing of them."

"Really?"

"Yes. I was always sheltering them out of curtesy. They were beasts who only cared about causing pain and death for their god. I only kept them around for my own purposes. But now things are moving and I needed to get rid of them while I still could. This war ends and the few people who can control them aren't around anymore, the world we leave behind won't stand much, if any, chance. But I've already got their replacements organized. People I'm much more proud to fight beside."

Before anyone could continue speaking, the door busted open. Kichigai stood there panting, gripping his head in pain. "Naruto! I want my power back! I want this agony in my head to stop!"

Naruto stood up and stared at him with wide eyes that then narrowed. "Ochiai, should he attack me, am I able to kill him?"

"Should he attack first, yes," Ochiai said, remaining perfectly calm.

Naruto then returned his attention to Kichigai. "What agony in your head? Do you mean...No. That's not possible."

Kichigai smirked. "That's what I said. Then Truth showed up and I knew I was screwed," he panted out through his pain.

"So, now we've reached an impasse?"

"No! Now we reach the point where I kill you and get my power back!" Kichigai shouted as he charged Naruto. He forced Naruto out of the window. They fell, but Naruto was able to split apart and land on his feet, Kichigai landing on his feet a short distance away.

"Sorry Kichigai, but I don't intend on letting you kill me," Naruto said before holding out his hand. A massive disk spun in his hand, a Rasengan spinning in the center of it.

Ochiai jumped from his window and landed off the side. "Don't fire that down here. It will take forever for the proper repairs to be made." He said.

"Don't worry. At this range, the moment it goes off I can contain it. Besides, I'm putting a small enough amount of chakra that the blast should be exceedingly small anyways." Naruto said right before he threw the disk.

Kichigai threw his hands out. "NO!" as he did this, the disk was deflected in a different direction.

"What the hell?" Naruto said to himself. He then turned his attention as a nearby support pillar was consumed in the explosion, the explosion he had been unable to contain in his shock.

Massive rocks started falling, both from the ceiling and the pillar.

Fuu, Crow, and Genkaku came around a corner just as a large piece of debris fell from above them.

Kichigai screamed in pain before his hand shot out towards all of the falling rock. "UNRAVEL!" he shouted.

A beam of white light fired outward, destroying everything in its path.

"That's not possible! He shouldn't have that kind of power!" Naruto shouted.

As the earth finally stopped shaking, a hole now in the ceiling where the stone once fell from, and the light faded away, Kichigai's eyes glowed. He screamed in pain, gripping his head in unbearable pain.

"Make it stop! Make it stop!" Kichigai screamed before his body straightened and one of his eyes started glowing red rather than white. "His power comes from the fragmented mind. He must now make a choice for his survival if he is to stop the pain. He must now decide!" he said before falling face forward onto the ground.

When his eyes opened again, Kichigai stood in the center of an infinite landscape. He was at the center where four massive corners met. An expanse of fire off to one area, a calm ocean to another. Solid ground to one area, and solid air to the last. Standing over the fire area was a form of Kichigai dressed in a red suit. The one over the water was a form of him with blue hair and in a blue kimono. The one over the earth wore a tan shirt and dark green pants and sclera in the eyes rather than gold. In the air was a far more detailed version of Kichigai's Truth.

Kichigai spun around to look at them all. They were all so calm looking. And then he realized why. He became calm. The pain was gone.

"Did you expect something else?" the one on the earth area asked. "Much like your original, you are in an imaginary place. There is no pain here."

"So then, this is my mind?" Kichigai asked.

"Where else? Mars perhaps?" the one in red asked. The entire landscape changed and they were standing on red rock in a vast expanse with hills and even mountains out to the sides. It stayed like that for a moment before going back to its original form.

"Silence," Truth said in his raspy voice. "This is about more than location. This is about so much more. The destiny of who we are is at stake."

"Yes, yes, Truth. We get it. Now let's get on with it." The one in the red suit said.

"Stability, Hatred And Anger, Truth, Love, and Insanity," Truth said, gesturing to the earthen one, the red one, himself, the ocean one, and then Kichigai respectively.

"You must choose now the direction you wish to take," the one in blue said. "We represent the strongest warring pieces of your mind. It's been almost seven months that you have been here. I am what has grown in you for this village you are living in and some of the people in it."

"So what? You are my love of these people?" Kichigai asked. He received a nod.

"I am the stability you have been trying to establish with your mind so broken. Trying so hard to get rid of the pain of your shattered mind has you trying to stabilize. Trying to make everything steady."

"I'm the one that's left, I guess," said Hatred. "I am your anger and hatred of the world. Most of your anger has come from not having your power, from losing. But your hatred is part of your insanity. Hating the world and being angry that you are fragmented."

"So now what?" Kichigai asked.

"You must choose. You're fragmented," Stability said.

"The only way to save yourself now is to choose the path you take," Hatred said.

"You must determine the path of your life," Love said.

"Do not sit on our ass as the events that affect us unfold to determine the course of our life. We are going to take a stand. We're going to defend it. Right or wrong, we're going to defend it," Truth said.

"I must choose? Choose what? One of you?" Kichgai asked.

"A path. You must choose a path," Love said.

"You must choose a path that leads to your survival," Stability said.

"And what if I choose the wrong path?" Kichgiai asked.

"You will remain fragmented. You will suffer and die. Your mind will rip itself apart in its agony. You will die a slow and painful death," Hatred said.

Kichigai thought for a moment. "So I have to choose my own path? In doing so, I either destroy myself or bring myself to the apex of myself."

"But you must choose the correct path," Truth said.

Kichigai was quiet for a moment. Then his eyes shot open. "'The correct path.' You said 'the.' There are not multiple paths. There is only one path. And it includes none of you."

"Wrong," Truth said, a smirk on his face. "But you were close. Try again."

Kichigai was quiet. "It includes all of you."

The ground disappeared and they all started falling. Kichigai turned to look into the sky. A shadow loomed. He saw a maniacal looking version of himself with his crown on his head. He was massive and loomed over everything.

"You have to choose!" Truth shouted over the howling wind.

Kichigai looked over at Truth before turning and seeing a solid ground quickly approaching.

"Choose! Live or die! Choose!" all shouted at him. Even the massive version.

The ground came up quickly.

"I choose to live!" he shouted. He clenched his eyes.

When Kichigai opened his eyes again, he was standing over an outstretched ledge over an infinite expanse. He turned and found that he couldn't look behind him. He just came to the same view that he had just turned from. The same ledge.

"There is no looking back." A voice said from behind.

Kichigai turned around again. It was the same view again, but this time with someone standing there. A mirror image of himself.

"So now what?" Kichigai asked.

"Now you move on. You did the same thing Naruto did when he accepted every fragment of himself. You are still yourself, but the madness is no longer dominant." The mirror image said.

"I'm not insanity anymore?!"

"Not quite. You are still madness, but it is something you choose now."

"So then...what am I?"

"You are...We could go by the name Ningen."

"Human? Are you serious?"

"It's your thought."

"I know! I know. I think I'm going to keep being Kichigai. I will always be Madness."

Then everything went black. He opened his eyes and found he was laying on a bed. He looked around and saw that he was in a cabin. He got up and looked around. He walked down a flight of stairs and found himself in a living room. In front of him stood a woman. One of the objects of one of the fragments. His madness had changed it at first, but it was what his mind had told him it was.

Fuu walked over to him, but she was surprised when he hugged her. "All this time that my head has been in agony. My mind was warring over fragments of itself. But now...now I am no longer what I once was." Kichigai said.

He released her and held his hand out towards a wall. "Unravel."

A blinding white light appeared and disappeared quickly. There was now a large piece of a wall missing. Not broken away. Not cut away. Just gone.

Kichigai turned sharply at the sound of slow clapping. Naruto was standing there as well, clapping his hands together for a moment before speaking. "Here I thought that you regaining your power was impossible. But now I see exactly why. What I did to you was meant to keep you from accessing your power. But then you changed so drastically that the seal's hold on you was broken."

"So now what? Are you going to kill me?" Kichigai asked, preparing to fight.

"Not unless you attack me. You and I both know that if you were still as insane as you were before, you would be rapidly deteriorating. You aren't so you're not. You're different."

"I'm still me!" Kichigai shouted.

Naruto tensed. "If you were still my madness, you would have already attacked me. Even though you have no weapon. You might still be you, but you are different. Have been since you left my mind." He then sighed. "I've already taken the last week to sort everything out with Ochiai. So, I'll leave the rest to you, Kichigai. Meanwhile, I have a eulogy to give." He then turned to a door and was about to leave.

"Wait," Kichigai called after him. "What now? We were going to fight. I was going to get my power back. What now?!"

"Now you decide. If you start becoming chaotic and destroying things, then I'll be back for you. If not, then you are no longer my responsibility."

"Then what am I?"

"If you want that answer from me, ask me when we meet again. If you choose to become insane again, follow the example of what you were, then be what you said you were. The King of Madness. Or be something different. I don't know. Me...I've got people to remember me. So, you could say I'm the Immortal King. You already know why. My values. People don't die until they are forgotten. Anyone who is remembered forever is immortal. Anyways, now it's time for me to go."

Naruto then walked out of the door.

"So, now what?" Fuu asked, speaking up for the first time since Kichigai had woken up.

"I'm still not sure."

* * *

 _ **Shino**_ stood resolutely in his black suit next to Anko. She was wearing a trench coat much like her usual one, only black, over a grey dress. Naruto walked up to the podium next to Hinata's coffin. He stood there a moment and noticed how similar the sky was compared to the funeral of the Sandaime Hokage.

Naruto sighed and looked out over the crowd. They were in the man square of the village. However, that wasn't enough. He hadn't expected for, quite literally, every citizen of Uzu no Kuni who wasn't manning the borders to be there. In the walls. Around the walls. On rooftops. In alleyways. He set up seals so that a projection of what was happening and what was being said was shown over the village for all to see and hear. Even those on the borders and in the other nations were getting this broadcast. He was surprised. He himself had grown to love this nation and would do anything for these people, especially with Hinata, Shino, and Anko standing beside him, but he hadn't expected the entire nation to show up for Hinata's funeral. But then he pushed past his own sadness. Most of them were also here because this was in commemoration of everyone who had been lost when Madara attacked. Hinata's coffin wasn't the only one there. Men. Women. Children. One thought entered his mind as he readied himself for what he was going to say and do here.

_'I hope I'm doing the right thing here.'_

He looked around before holding his arms out and letting them fall again. "I planned for a ton of things in my life, but never this. Never to be speaking for this occasion. I thought...I long ago fooled myself into thinking that once I had gained enough power, I would be able to protect everyone I hold dear. To protect everyone. But you don't get to stand at the top without making enemies looking to tare you down. I wish...I wish more than anything else that I was really able to protect you all. All who have died. All who have been injured. All who will be killed. All who will suffer or have suffered because of my mistakes or because I was unable to...because I wasn't here. I know that some of my friends have told me not to blame myself, and I know that many of you would tell me the same. However, I am the reason you were all here. I brought the Jinchuriki to this place and made it a target for forces beyond anything I can stop. I formed this nation. I promised you all I could protect you! I-" he paused as his breath hitched.

Tears fell from his eyes. "I failed. I failed to protect my home. My people. I- I will come back to that. I want to first commemorate these people.

"Time flows through empty spaces. Souls move to better places. Where have we been? Where are we going? Life goes on. I have decided to be extremely sentimental with this, I hope you don't mind. I have always known that death is unstoppable, but now it's time to truly embrace this. Only once people deny that which they love, do they become able to create it anew. Perhaps, the book I write, too, will die one day just like my body will. However, people have to accept that death is unavoidable. They will probably be gone in ten years. Their books will no longer exist in a hundred years. People accept this. Eternity is promised neither to humans nor to books. We live because we were born. Nothing in this world is eternal. The truth is that everything is temporary. Especially people in our lives. I look at you all, and all the people I know, and I realize that I can't imagine any other people in their place during the time I have known them. But when the people we call friends or family leave our lives, we sometimes experience fear and sadness and sentiment. And when a man faces fear, his soul is tested. What he was born to seek... what he was born to achieve... his true nature will become clear.

"We always try to look towards the future for answers. We are all farsighted, we give importance to those things that are far from us while neglecting the things that are close to us... only to realize their value later when they are out-of-reach again...as they have become now. If you try to acquire something, you'll lose something else along the way. That's the truth of this world. No matter how sad it is. This world changes. No one can refute that. The past and future will always be things we want to change. But no matter what, you must remember the past. That past doesn't define you. It just gives you the starting point for who you're going to be. So now we come to this. These people we feel we must say goodbye to. But never say goodbye. If you don't say 'goodbye,' then you aren't really gone. You...just aren't here right now."

Naruto then leaned over the podium. He was silent for a moment.

"I will hate myself for a long time to come for this, but I have something else to say. Take this day to pay your respects. But then prepare yourselves. In three days, Uzu will be at war."

* * *

 _ **Sasuke**_ was sitting at the Hokage's desk. He knew he was almost out of time. Only another few days and Naruto would be here. He was almost out of time.

There was a knock at the door before a scout came in. "Lord Hokage! We have a problem! Iwa is destroyed!"

"What?!" Sasuke asked. "What kind of damage?"

"Sir. It's gone. There's nothing left of it. It's just a crater now."


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adding another three chapters at a time again which will catch it up to my Wattpad posting. Chapters 20, 21, and 22. And yes I'll be putting this note in all three again.

_**Ochiai**_ walked into a room to be greeted with screams of agonizing pain.

"Please! I gave you the information you wanted! Isn't that enough?! Let me live!" a man screamed.

A woman chuckled. "No, it isn't enough. There are two things to remember when you're begging for your life. One is to try and entertain the person holding the gun to your head and the other is to give that person..." She paused and gave a small hum. Her voice audibly changed with a sick grin.

"The other is to give them a convincing reason why they shouldn't kill you. But you haven't managed to do either one of those things."

There was then a sickening crack and the thud of a body hitting the floor.

"Hello, Ochiai. Nice of you to come down and visit."

"Always a pleasure Balalaika. So you got the intel?"

A woman stepped into his view. She had blonde hair and blue-eyed woman with scars across what could be seen of her face, neck, breasts, and legs. Her hair was very long, going down to the base of her spine, and done up in a huge ponytail. She wore a wine red skirt suit with black stockings and black high heels.

"Indeed. I should have my people on it soon. I'll go personally to make sure they are all taken care of," Balalaika said.

"Good. We need the last of the Jashinists out of the way before we have no way of fighting them."

* * *

 _ **They**_ were sitting in the living room of Kurotsuchi's home. Each was in a chair across from the other, a coffee table in between them.

"So then, you tracked it back to me." Kurotsuchi said.

"Yes. You thought that by sending those ANBU there to intimidate me into surrendering, you would gain something. Or perhaps you thought it would gain your nation something? I really don't care why though, only that you did." Naruto said.

"Interestingly enough, your grandfather rejected the idea. Smart man. You thought that I wouldn't be able to kill the group you sent to Uzu, or at the very least would have enough trouble dealing with them to be intimidated by your village's forces, and you were wrong."

"They were supposed to have killed you if you hadn't agreed to surrender Orb to Iwa and Kumo."

"Yes. That was one thing I thought funny. You actually convinced the Raikage to send some of his ANBU with your group. Honestly, I might have been hard-pressed to kill them all if I hadn't had two people with me. However, they failed quickly and foolishly. So now the question remains of what to do with you."

"Do you know how many people have threatened me in the past as the Tsuchikage's granddaughter?"

"No, and I don't really care."

"Look, I get what you're doing. Coming here to try and settle things. Try to intimidate me into serving you so it doesn't happen again. I can tell you know it won't work."

Naruto sighed. "I already knew that. The problem you face is much different than you think. You see, this was my home. My home damn it! So I am not here to threaten you. I'm here to kill you."

Naruto shocked her by lunging forward over the coffee table and wrapping his hands around her throat. She tried to remove his hands but failed. She started punching at his face only for his head to come down and smash into her forehead, stunning her for a moment.

He released her, causing her to cough and gasp for air. Before she could regain her senses and try resisting again, he drew a blade and cut off her hands. Immediately he dropped down again and started to choke her once more. She would die. Even as she flailed and tried to get free, sending blood everywhere, she would die.

Once she was finally dead, Naruto stood up and looked down at the body. "Pathetic. Well, at least I can compliment you on not trying to beg. You tried to resist the whole time. No look of pleading. Nothing."

He then turned and walked to the door, bringing the hood of a cloak over his head so he wasn't seen. As he walked out, two people flanked him. Kagari and Kureo.

"Are they all out and replaced?" he asked as he turned to them.

"They are," Kureo replied.

"So, do we get to watch this place go up in smoke now?" Kagari asked.

"The original's meeting with the Tsuchikage is almost over. Hurry and get outside the blast radius just in case," Naruto said before dispersing in a cloud of smoke.

* * *

 _ **Naruto's**_ head turned a moment as if distracted. His attention was caught again by a cough.

"Yes, so now that you know what she has done, Lord Tsuchikage, what do you think should be done?" Naruto said, turning back to the old man he was meeting.

"I still can't believe she did this. I ordered her not to take matters too far. She believed that sending a team to intimidate and kill you alone would work. I knew it would only make things worse." Onoki said.

"And so it has. Things are on the brink now. Your village stands between me and my dream. And look what has happened now. So I ask again, how should this be handled?"

Onoki sighed. "Under normal circumstances, everyone responsible would be executed but-"

Naruto nodded. "Shouldn't such measures be taken now?"

"You can't be serious. This is my granddaughter!"

"And she threatened my home! Investigation turned up that she actually _sold_ my friends in Taki! I will not allow this to go unpunished. So you now have two choices. Allow me to be her executioner as an example, or you will have yourself and every member of your village bow to me and swear not loyalty, but fealty, to me and all of Orb."

"What? You will have my village bow to you? Are you insane?"

"I am being exceedingly rational, all things considered. You want me to be insane? I could destroy your village now. This is a very delicate political situation that could explode at any moment. So choose."

"I can't. I can't let my only living relative die, and I can't just have my village bow to you."

Naruto sighed. "So be it. Take comfort in one thing though. I may have already killed your granddaughter, but be grateful that most of the civilians are no longer within the walls."

Before Onoki could respond, Naruto disappeared. He reappeared walking far outside the village walls of Iwa. He touched his ear and spoke into the communications device. "Fire the Crest Gun."

As the order was given, he pulled a small cigarette from his pocket and lit it. As he took one puff, there was a sonic boom. There was a blinding light before a shockwave and walls of wind blew past him. Iwa was gone now.

One of his personal guard landed next to him. "I was unaware you smoked, sir."

"I don't," Naruto said. He then started coughing and spat. He through the cigarette onto the ground and cursed. "How do people smoke those things on a regular basis? They're disgusting."

"So why smoke that one?"

"I could die during the war, my friend. I felt like looking cool for a moment. Now then, on to Kumo. The Raikage might have been deceived by the Tsuchikage's granddaughter, but he is still to blame for so easily joining in on such a foolish action."

"Sir, if they don't kneel, what will you do?"

"You wonder if I'll fire the crest gun at them. No. They were deceived and deserve a warrior's death."

"Was the Tsuchikage not deceived?"

"It was his own fault for not keeping an eye on his forces and a steady hand on those who should not be given command. He was destroyed for it. Now go. Prepare the armies in waiting. Tomorrow we march."

"Yes sir. And after Kumo?"

Naruto kept walking, an airship coming down to pick them up. He started laughing. "As of now, the end begins. Then we go to Konoha. Oh yes. Like sheep to the pen."

"Sir?"

"Konoha. They're like sheep to the pen."

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ stood atop a ridge, looking down at the burning village bellow. He heard the screams of people who had stood in his way. People who had refused to run when the others stood up and started a battle as his army marched.

"How many days have passed like this? With this story carrying on. I've had this dream so many times, but now these moments have passed and gone away. I sometimes wonder, could there be an end to this, what I'm feeling deep inside." He said to no one in particular. However, Shino, who was standing behind him with Anko, stepped forward.

"If you're having second thoughts Naruto, you could always stop this. You've done so much already that it will be difficult for anyone to go against Orb without some sort of backlash that they know to avoid."

Naruto turned to him. "All three of us know by now that there is no looking back. There's no going back. The time has already come. Now that the sun is gone, there are no more shadows. We can't give up. Not now. I know that. And so this life goes on. Don't worry Shino. I'll be strong... I'll be strong until I see the end."

Shino nodded. Anko walked up and pulled them together into her arms. "Don't worry you two. Soon enough, even if we die in the process, our dreams will be realized."

Naruto leaned into the hug and whispered to them. "Thank you for your help. I really hope that you two don't fall along the path that I walk."

* * *

 _ **"Power**_ expenditure stable."

"Gravitational seals holding at nominal levels."

"Static and noise falling within acceptable deviations."

"Feedback return imminent. Receiving?"

"Feedback return confirmed. Data coming through."

"Data accepted and interpreted. All levels, feedback, and percentages either in acceptable and expected ranges of deviation, at near perfection, or at absolute perfection."

"Bahamut sky fortress is operating at peak performance and is ready for combat and warfare."

"Reports coming in. The results are green across the board. The fleet is mobilized and ready."

Naruto walked across the bridge of the fortress and onto the observation deck, listening to the reports coming in from the people sitting at the operation terminals of the fortress. He watched as the structure floated over the mountains. There it was. The village was starting to come into view. He looked around and saw the many classes of warships that formed the fleet. Hundreds of ships with Bahamut leading the charge. He then turned to everyone giving reports and gave a small cough to get their attention.

"Good. Tell every ship and member of the fleet to get ready. We will be on the village in a matter of seconds. I want this quick and clean with as little loss as possible. It's time. The beginning of the end. All forces. Attack," he said before turning to look out over Kumo.

They had refused his offer of mercy. Now he would give them death. Though he did have to note they were at least smart enough to accept the two hours to get their civilians out.

"Send in the shinobi. I'm already tired of this war. Bring me the Raikage when he's defeated."

Airships quickly started moving in over Kumo. Smaller drop ships carried down shinobi as the larger ones opened fire on the towers of the village. Their fire was not unreciprocated. Bolts of lightning started firing into the air along with scattered balls of fire. While the hulls of some of the larger ships could take it for long periods of time, smaller ships started falling out of the air. Naruto wouldn't have it. He saw that the Raikage was no longer in the central tower the moment one of the ground teams disappeared in a massive bolt of electricity.

"Fire the main cannon. Bring it all down." Naruto said.

The Bahamut moved over the mountain in the center of the village before firing the main cannon pointing straight down. The massive beam of energy fired downward. Moments passed before the entire mountain exploded and started crumbling down. The rocks crushed anyone within or around the tower.

One of the dropships got lower to the ground and allowed its team to drop to the ground. Tayuya dropped to the ground in the center of several Kumo shinobi. She spun her flute around as it extended into a staff. She took down several of her opponents, hundreds of notes flying from the staff as air passed through it.

One of the Kumo shinobi was about to stab her in the back when Jirobo landed on top of them, breaking their spine and instantly silencing them. Tsayuya turned to him and gave a small smile and nod.

Jirobo brought up an earthen wall and sent it toward a group of shinobi headed in their direction.

Kidomaru, Sakon, and Ukon also dropped in. Sakon and Ukon's arms fused as they punched a man in the stomach as he came around a corner. Kidomaru pulled up his Hite-ate and looked around. He spotted a small genjutsu and launched webbing over the area, trapping the two shinobi who were hiding.

Another shinobi ran around the corner for Jirobo to lift up his leg and kick the man in the face. More came from one of the rooftops and were about to jab kunai into Jirobo's back. They were quickly crushed as a heavily armored person dropped in on them. The red and yellow armored man stood above the bodies and looked over them.

Kikuchiyo stood at full height and allowed Kyuzo to jump off his back. He pulled his sword and easily cleaved through a line of the enemy. Kyuzo pulled both of his blades and dashed in between several enemies in the crowd, cutting tendons and other vital areas in quick succession.

In another part of the village, Jugo dropped in with Kimimaro who brought up a field of bones among the enemies while Jugo transformed into a deranged form and started screaming and laughing.

"It's strange to see you giving into that voluntarily, Jugo," Kimimaro said.

"Yes, but now I have reason to!" Jugo growled out.

They took off and started destroying what they could, Jugo firing off blasts of energy while his friend used blades of bone to cut through materials and people. All of a sudden, Jugo was blasted into a wall by a rapidly moving object.

The Raikage.

Jugo simply laughed at him as multiple appendages grew from his back, built up chakra, and fired it towards the man.

"I got him! I got the big guy!" Jugo shouted.

Jugo was then launched into another wall by the Raikage who now had electricity surging around him. He started rushing towards Kimimaro who simply exploded with bones. A stopped himself just in time for the tip of one of those bones to be mere millimeters from his eye. He backed up as the bones retracted. The bones then started forming a lance around one of Kimimaro's hands and a sword in the other.

Jugo landed next to Kimimaro, a deranged smile on his face. "This is going to be fun."

On the other side of the village, Tayuya was playing her flute, putting several shinobi to sleep. One who was still somewhat away charged at them only to have a first put him down.

Tayuya smirked and touched her ear. "Looks like most of the forces in this area have been dealt with."

"This is operations control: we have that confirmed. Head to the eastern sector as per the plan and assist Jugo and Kimimaro with the Raikage. Should he provide too much challenge, trap him in the Triple Rashomon and we will fire a blast from the Bahamut fortress to take him down. Confirm orders."

"Orders received. Heading to point."

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ walked down the streets. He had not expected so much damage in the battle here. Kumo was heavily damaged, but it could be repaired. He then walked into one of the areas his people had used to set up camp. Tayuya was instantly at his side. She had a bandage over her eye.

"Your eye?" Naruto asked.

"Nothing. Just a cut. I'll be fine. I feel worse for Ukon. He lost an arm." Tayuya said, her voice became disheartened when she mentioned her friend's injury.

"I'll see one of the puppeteers in Suna about getting him a replacement. For now, just see to it that the medics do their best."

"Yes sir."

"Now, about the Raikage."

"It took us a while, as you no doubt saw, but we brought him down. You said you wanted him alive, but you didn't say anything about cutting him up a bit."

"That's right. I don't really care much for the damage. He won't be around much longer."

"Right. He's this way."

She then led him towards a large tent. She pulled back the flap to show many prisoners. At the end of the rows of people was one. The Raikage. A. A man who had resisted peace. The man who then sat there and looked defiantly up at Naruto.

"So then Raikage, now that your burden is two arms lighter, what do you think of my offer."

The Raikage spit in his face. "Screw you, monster."

Naruto whipped off his face with a chuckle. "I'm no monster. I'm a warrior, like you. Now then, how should I execute you? A beheading before your remaining village? Perhaps allow you to commit seppuku. Oh, wait. Sorry. You have no arms now. Well, maybe I should just do it NOW!"

Within the beat of a heart, the Raikage was headless, his blood on the blade in Naruto's hand.

"Good. Now we can move on. All that's left is confirmation from Suigetsu about Taki and then we head to Konoha."

* * *

 _ **Suigetsu**_ rushed through the streets of Taki, the rest of his team behind him. He swung the Kiba blades and decapitated someone just as they landed in front of the group. Another shinobi came to strike him with a sword but was quickly stopped as a large needle passed through the man's arm.

Mangetsu pulled back on Nuibari to stitch the blade from the man's arm through his shoulder and then move him back to a large group of shinobi already on the wire.

Kisame crashed through a wall, laughing like a maniac as his blade ripped through several enemy shinobi. Samehada gorged itself on the chakra of those it came in contact with it and kept getting bigger. Even with swords piercing his body, Kisame didn't care. Samehada was fueling him with more than enough to survive being torn in half.

Itachi walked calmly through the same hole in the wall that Kisame had come from, his Susanoo's ribcage formed around him.

"Kisame, perhaps you should switch to decaf?" Itachi said.

Kisame turned to him. "I don't drink coffee!" He then shot off again.

Itachi sighed and kept moving. An arm formed from the ribcage and swatted away any enemy foolish enough to run at him with a drawn sword.

Suigetsu saw an explosive tag flying towards him and sliced through it with the Kiba. The seal exploded, knocking the blades from his hands. Another shinobi want to slash at him with a kunai only to be cleaved in half as Suigetsu unsealed Shibuki from his wrist and swung the blade in a wide arc.

Chojuro had Hiramekarei form a massive hammer and easily crushed several of the enemy. The chakra then switched to a longsword that cut through an office building, bringing the entire structure down.

Zabuza stood in the center of a coiled water dragon that he launched at a cluster of shinobi that brought up an earth wall to protect them. Haku made several hand signs and froze the dragon, creating a massive projectile that easily smashed through their defenses. Anyone who survived to try mounting a counter-attack were quickly covered in senbon or hacked to pieces by Zabuza's Kubikiribocho.

It wouldn't be much longer before victory. And everyone, on either side, knew it.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ stood at the top of the Bahumut, feeling the wind whip at him. He took a deep breath before jumping over the side. Falling faster and faster as he picked up speed, he opened his eyes and looked down. As the ground came up at him, he entered his sage mode and allowed his wings to open up. He finally landed and folded in his wings, waiting a moment before turning to look at his army. He had landed in between Shino and Anko. This was all by design of course. He needed this entrance to be dramatic in order to boost morale. As high as it was, he knew that no one was particularly happy. They had won the battle at Kumo, but they had still lost people.

His army was finally only a few miles away from Konoha. With their time up, Konoha was being forced to stand down. It was finally time to dominate the world. With Kumo and Iwa taken down, all that was left was this village. And then, then Zetsu would fall.

He stood there before his army as they stayed at a halt. They had been camped there for an hour now, waiting for the signal to begin their march. With them gathered in a valley with trees on either side, his voice was able to reach them all.

"Uzu! Prepare for glory! We are almost clear of this pathetic war! Almost to the peace we have been working towards! So now, I have one last thing to say, and I say it now because I might not get the chance later! This applies to now, and to the day we take on those who seek to destroy us all!" he said before a small pause. "I won't make this any more of a speech than it has already become. So, if we don't make it out alive...well it's a hell of a good day to die. It has been an honor serving with all of you. I thank you all."

He let a heavy silence fall over them all. No one said anything. None dared ruin it.

Naruto looked at each face he could only saw resolve. He nodded. "Now, let's move."

With that said, he turned back to the village he could see in the distance. He started walking, everyone beginning their own march in response. It was finally time to end the corruption that had so long festered.

With them merely walking, it was another hour before the entire army started collecting around the walls of Konoha. And at the gates waiting for them, was Sasuke Uchiha, Konohamaru Sarutobi, and Rock Lee.

Naruto walked up to the three, his face unwavering. He got up to them and stood there, looking at them. "You continue to both surprise and disappoint me, Sasuke. First you reject my offer of peace. Next, you attack me and my family. Now...now you stand here without following my orders. You have kept your position of power rather than give it to Konohamaru like I ordered."

"Naruto? You ordered that?" Konohamaru asked, surprise etched into his face.

"Oh? So you never even mentioned it," Naruto said, highly amused.

"I was trying to keep everything stable," Sasuke said.

"And we see how that worked!" Naruto shouted. "You've brought war to your doorstep! All you ever wanted was peace?! All I ever tried to do was bring an end to the corruption! An end to war! I tried to bring a better world into existence! "

He started pacing in front of Sasuke and the others.

"You just don't get it do you? I gave you everything! Every opportunity. Your eyes. So many chances. But this...This is how you stand before me?! Can't you understand what I'm doing?! When I began, humanity was stagnant! Dying! I would give it one unified empire! One body, so to speak. I would give it one banner!"

He spread his arms out and looked to the sky.

"Think about it. With one banner there would be no more war." He then paused to look back at the three in front of him. He began drawing his arm in wide arks with every sentence.

"With all the world focused only on bettering the world, we could do anything. Curing incurable disease? Reaching unreachable places? Nothing couldn't be done! There would be no more suffering!"

He lowered his arms and went back to pacing. "Don't you see? All I've ever been trying to do? I was never out to harm humanity. I was only ever trying to give it a second chance! But you-You want this army to just go away! You want to live your fantasy world! You want me to give you another chance! But not this time! You don't get another chance! It's time you gave me something!

"Now the only thing left standing in between me, and Earth's true destiny, is you and your village." He shrugged. "Well, I guess I can't forget about Zetsu, but you get the point. Now then, you bring me Tsunade, and then you tell everyone here that Konohamaru and I are in charge."

Sasuke shook his head, his face taking on a hard expression. "You can't."

Naruto sighed. "I can and I will. But I'm not giving you a warning of words anymore." He then held up his hand. "Lee, did you follow orders?"

Lee nodded. "All according to your youthful plan."

"Thank you Lee. Unravel!"

Before anyone could question Lee's words or what was going on, a bright light flashed and temporarily blinded everyone. When the light faded, they all looked up to see a massive section of the village missing along with an area of the ground beneath the buildings.

"I told you I was done handing out chances," Naruto said.

"You-you just destroyed part of the village? All those people?" Sasuke asked.

"Shut up Sasuke. If anyone has died here today it was by your indirect influence. You did this. Now stand down or more people die. Step aside and let my take over your village or you will die screaming beside it."

Sasuke hung his head for a moment. Dark feathers sprouted along his body and his fingers turned into talons as his Sage mode activated. "No. I will do as my brother did. I will separate myself from the village to protect it." He then took a kunai and dragged it across his hite-ate. "Konohamaru, I am no longer a part of this village. I act alone."

"You want to try again, Sasuke? In an attempt to fight me while also making sure it won't affect the village? Doesn't matter. Your village will fall regardless. Now, let's see what you will be willing to do. No one is to interfere!"

Sasuke shouted as he charged forward. Naruto laughed and grabbed onto Sasuke before launching into the sky. Miles away from the village and Naruto brought them to the ground. They flew by at alarming rates as he slammed Sasuke into the ground and continued dragging him along.

"Do not disappoint me again!" Naruto shouted.

Naruto was flipped over as Sasuke suddenly folded in one of his wings and slammed them both into the ground. He got up and staggered a few feet from where he and Sasuke had landed before jumping up and landing on a large tree branch where he crouched as Sasuke groaned and stood up. He then took off and hid among the trees.

Sasuke looked around. "Where are you?" he asked to himself.

Naruto activated a seal on his neck that projected his voice across the entire area. "Why do you continue to help these people, Sasuke? You have nothing to gain from them. No reason to fight for them. Yet here you stand with your life on the line for _them_."

"Is that so hard to understand?"

"With everything they have done? Of course it is! What happened to everything I did for you? You were my brother! In all but blood? Do you remember that?" Naruto asked before laughing. "Tell me Sasuke, do you want a life of happiness? Or a life of meaning?"

"I'd rather have both."

"That's not possible, I'm afraid. Can't be done. Two very different paths. I mean, to be truly happy, a man must live absolutely in the present. And with no thought of what's gone before, and no thought of what lies ahead. But, a life of meaning...A man is condemned to wallow in the past and obsess about the future. And my guess is that you've done quite a bit of obsessing about yours these last few days. I gave you so much. But then you tried to destroy me. I was going to give everyone a world where they could live a life of happiness. I care about the world. I just want to save the world. To heal it."

"You killed so many people."

"Only those who had a chance of standing against me. Those civilians you care oh so much about? Lee followed the orders I gave him. The offer I gave him to save those he cared for, regardless of whether or not those people stood against me. We have always needed something _big_ to bring the world own on the proper course. I want to bring everyone hope."

"This is what you think brings hope? All those people dead?"

"There's six and a half billion people on this planet. The people I've killed? That's less than point zero zero one per cent. Come on, that's an acceptable loss by anyone's account."

"Acceptable loss?"

"This war will be a catalyst for peace. But unlike every war before, _my_ precious people will maintain that peace. Orb shall maintain peace for all of eternity. Oh, but you got me off track. Remember when I was talking about your pathetic villagers? I replaced them all with clones. They're all sealed up in scrolls on the outskirts of Konoha's territory."

"What?"

"Yes. I promised Lee the same thing I promised you. The salvation of the people he valued. How lucky are you that that just so happened to be every civilian in the village and a large portion of the shinobi force. I only intended on killing a select few of your people from the very beginning. Lee just helped make that goal so much EASIER!"

With that last word, Naruto's foot contacted Sasuke's back, kicking the Uchiha into the dirt.

Naruto put his palms together and gave a small bow. "Round one: Naruto."

"Now you're just being an asshole," Sasuke said as he stood back up

Naruto chuckled before letting out a heavy sigh. He was about to speak again when there was an explosion in the direction of Konoha.

Sasuke turned towards it.

"Keep your eyes on me, Sasuke." Naruto said.

"What did you do? I left them to protect them."

Naruto chuckled again. "You still don't get it, do you? The entire reason you were allowed to live this long, was because you are just so weak. Everyone was so angry that I left you alive, but now I get to tell you why. You see, I was quite confident that you'd do more damage to these people, to Konoha, than they could ever do to themselves. You're a fool for the things you've done, and I knew that putting you in charge of the village would be nothing short of a recipe for disaster. I figured I'd let you rally these people and then kill you after a few months."

"So why didn't you?"

"I would have. Without a moment's hesitation, I might add. Oh, but then you did something special! You gave these people hope! And with that came a new level of motivation. To fight harder, to die faster! That's what's happening over there. With you gone, the few who stood for your cause became even fewer. Those who abandoned your goal now fight for Konohamaru against those who resist. But those who stand against my forces are dying so much faster now."

"No! That's not-"

"Not what, Sasuke? Not right? Not fair. I don't care. Thanks to you and everything you've done, all who do resist are being taken into custody or killed. All with the belief that their sacrifice might actually mean something. But you know what? It all means nothing! At the end of the day, if I'm stronger than you and if I'm faster than you, then I can kill you! And that's better than anything money can ever buy! Their deaths are on your head. Their failure is all stemmed from your failure. Oh, and you know the best part? Remember your clan I brought back to keep an eye on you and yours? They are out there, helping me take down the village as they planned to do so long ago."

"You bastard."

"I'm a bastard now? No. I'm just the one who cares about what needs to be done. Oh, but then there was the fact that I'm bound by my own word not to kill everyone. But tomorrow? Tomorrow Tsunade will be executed in front of your entire village. And do you know what I'm going to say to them as I do it? I'm going to tell them how you and her, who were supposed to protect them, who were supposed to save them, who they were supposed to put all their hope in, have failed. How their hope was for nothing. I will fulfill an old promise. I will crush your entire village's hope. I will make them all see the true depth of their failure. And then nothing will stop me from creating my better world."

Sasuke screamed and charged him. Naruto simply spun around him and kicked him again and then retreated back among the trees moments later. "You know, I have never been sure what was worse. I'm still not sure. The knowledge that you never understood, or the doubt that you ever could," he said before leaping to another tree, not giving Sasuke the chance to track him. "You once cared nothing for these people. I changed that. You care for them because I changed you. I kept you from the darkness. You were once a survivor! Maybe I should have left you that way."

"I was a different person."

"No, you were a soldier."

"You say that like they're two different things."

"Let me rephrase myself. You were willing to do anything a true soldier needed to do. When a true soldier is told to kill, or needs to, he kills. He does not question why, or in any other case he does not try to make excuses for himself, he does not mourn the fallen; he fulfills his role and moves on to the next."

"Is that what you want to be? A true soldier?"

Naruto stood on a branch as he readied a black Rasengan in each palm of his hands. He readied himself to lunge forward.

"No, that is what I am!"

He launched himself forward and buried one of the spheres into the ground where Sasuke had once stood. He twisted around and saw Sasuke above him, ready to strike. Naruto did something Sasuke thought impossible. He replaced himself with the dust around the Uchiha.

Sasuke activated his Susanoo to protect himself from the second Rasengan as it went to make contact with his body. However, the force still sent him flying backward. When he stood back up, he looked at Naruto as his Susanoo faded away.

"I would keep that up, but I know you would then use the Kyuubi. I can't have so much destruction so close to the village, even if it's being taken over."

Naruto smirked. "I don't need his help with you," he said before disappearing.

Sasuke felt a searing pain in his back as Naruto placed a seal on him. Instantly, he was among the trees yet again.

"You know your problem Sasuke? I warned you. Even when I gave you a choice, you chose to fight. Under normal circumstances, I would admire that decision. But regardless, it is always important to know that admiration of one decision will never be respect. And it will never mean salvation. But let me ask a question. Did you really think defending Konoha in the way you did was honorable?"

"Yes."

"How foolish. Honor should never factor into such a decision. If I depended on honor, the moment you first attacked me and my village would have been the last time your village saw the light of day. Arrows would blot out the sun. My vengeance would have blotted out the sky. But I was the one making the decisions. Anyone else would have wiped you out, would have erased your village from the face of this planet and from all history. Think about that."

"No."

"Think about it! Imagine the field where your people would have been slaughtered in their final moments, trying to defend themselves from the unavoidable only to be left for dead to rot in the sun and be picked at by the scavengers."

"NO!"

Naruto's laugh echoed the clearing. "Imagine yourself there. Walk among the dead: Among your dead. Think on that. Walk among the ashes of a billion dead souls, and ask if your honor matters. If it matters to me! If it matters to them! To the dead! If it matters to anyone! The silence of an empty void, where hundreds once lived, shall be your only answer. Your honor is worthless to me, as it is worthless to the dead."

"Then what do you want from me?"

"What do I want from you? I once only asked for you to accept my offer of redemption. Now? Now redemption shall forever elude you."

"Redemption?"

"Tell me. Who are you that would stand against me?"

Sasuke groaned in pain as the seal on his back started to burn.

Naruto then appeared before him. He tried to form hand signs, however, as he tried to call forth his chakra, pain shot through his body and forced him to his knees. As the pain faded, he heard Naruto's laughter.

"Now that is a pity. What will you do now? You are forsaken. No help will come."

He then walked over to the kneeling Uchiha and delivered a savage kick to his head, putting him on the ground. He then started to repeatedly stomp on his chest and ribs. He was about to go for a tenth kick when he stopped himself.

"You cannot save your village from the fire, Sasuke. Those people will burn. Tell me, wretch, how now, shall you challenge me. You have nothing left but your death."

Naruto then held out his hand and prepared another Rasengan. He picked Sasuke up by his shirt and forced him to stand there, though he was slouching.

Sasuke was unable to do anything this time as Naruto burrowed the Rasengan into his shoulder. He screamed in agony as his shoulder was shredded and then blown apart. He flew across the clearing and landed on his side. He could then feel himself beginning to lose consciousness.

"That is the last time you try to beat me, Hokage Sasuke Uchiha," Naruto said before he picked something up and started laughing.

"Like sheep to the pen, Sasuke. Like sheep to the pen." He said as he walked up to Sasuke and then crouched in front of him. He waved the Uchiha's own arm in front of him, the Rasengan having ripped it off.

"Like sheep to the pen, you're ready for slaughter."

Sasuke then lost consciousness.

Naruto sighed and stood up, looking down at his once-friend. His voice adopted a somber tone as he spoke.

"I am a perfect soldier, Sasuke. I do not mourn my fallen enemies. Don't think me a monster, though. I tried so long to help you. But I will not mourn your death. I will mourn _my_ fallen. I will be a perfect soldier so that I can save my people.

"But when I fix this broken world? Then there will never be a need for true soldiers again. And then? If I survive this? Then I can finally have my life of happiness. If not? Acceptable losses. Remember how I talked about those? I have always counted myself on that list. Never think I didn't. Now let's get you back before you bleed out. Your brother would be very angry if I didn't let him be the one to choose."

His wings spread out as he picked Sasuke up. He then took off. As the village again came into view, he saw that his people had already moved into the village and started establishing their grasp on the vital areas. The fighting had already been mostly silenced. The forces were also trying to settle the civilians and started returning some of them to their homes. Or, in the case of people whose homes had been destroyed, to tents that had been set up.

However, many people were running in the streets. Many were panicking. Even worse, some were inciting panic in some of the few who were trying to calm down. He needed this to be quelled soon.

Naruto finally landed outside of a hospital. Several people came running towards them. He through Sasuke at their feet along with his arm.

"Keep him alive. Reattach the arm if possible," Naruto said before taking off again. He landed on the corner of the roof of a building in the center of where the people were causing the most panic.

He let some of the nature energy flow more rampant as he let out a roar with a stream of fire directed at the air. The fire died down as his jaw, which had taken on a more animalistic appearance, started returning to normal.

The people looked up at him, screamed, ran, and, more importantly, begged. He had been waiting for this moment. He discerned one plea in particular out of the panicked crowd.

"Please! Spare us!"

He laughed and then shouted so that all could hear him. "You want me to spare you?!"

He let out a dark chuckle. He let loose another stream of fire into the air. As it ended, he whispered to himself, "No."

He stood there a moment as some of them became quieter.

"Let that be your answer! You all had your chance long ago! Now I shall tell you one time! If you continue this worthless panic, you shall all pay! Go home and settle down! For if you do not, you shall pay a price you are not ready to pay!"

He didn't wait for their response as he turned his back on them. He could hear a slight buzzing in his ears. The cloud of insects formed a small arrow in the air and started moving. He took off into the air to follow them.

Shino was standing on the roof of the Hokage's tower as he approached, greeting him once he landed next to him and allowed the sage mode to fade away.

"How's everything going?" Naruto asked.

"We have any resisting shinobi on lockdown," Shino said. "Most joined Konohamaru either because it was him or because they wanted to join you. We have everyone you said were specific targets already in custody. We also located Tsunade. She's ready for execution whenever you give the order."

"Good. Let everyone rest. They deserve it. Also, do notify them that anyone who starts unwarranted trouble, regardless of village or side, will be personally executed by me."

"Of course."

* * *

 _ **Kichigai**_ sat at a table in a restaurant with his head hanging low. Ever since he had become whole, he had been unable to figure out what he was supposed to do now. He no longer had to try and get his power back. While his madness was still there, it was not as all-encompassing as it was before. And now he couldn't figure out what to do with himself. He let out a heavy sigh.

"Tell me, why feel regret in the midst of everything you wanted?" A voice said.

Kichigai looked up to see Skull sitting across from him. "Skull. What do you think I should do? I have what I wanted. I have my power and the pain is gone, but now I don't know what to do. The madness is there, but not like it was. I can still feel it making up a part of my personality, but it doesn't drive me like it did before. All I can do is sit here and think. Its...I would say it's driving me insane but it's not! I have no purpose now!"

Skull nodded. "Fuu."

"What about her? You mean me feeling something for her? I don't know what I feel for anything anymore. I feel empty and complete all at the same time. It's not part of my original nature. Feeling anything like that towards anyone is...confusing."

Skull gave a dark chuckle. "Always is. Madness or not."

Kichigai sighed. "Come on you cryptic bastard, talk to me here."

Skull laughed again. "I was once like you."

"What's that mean?"

"Monster and hero. Insane yet not. I am everything I was meant to be."

In an instant, Skull was gone.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ sat in the Hokage's office with his feet propped up. He took a whiskey glass out of Tsunade's private stash and pulled a bottle from a sealing array on his arm. He poured some of the contents out into the glass and started drinking. Then there was a knock on the door.

"Send her in," Naruto said.

Someone opened the door for one of Naruto's personal guard to shove Tsunade in. She looked rough. Bruises, still healing scratches, and a hollow eye adorned her face. Her hair was messy and she had a limp as she walked. They walked her over to the chair in front of Naruto and forced her to sit down with a shove.

"Please, she's nothing. Remove the restraints." he said.

They complied before giving a nod to him with a small 'Sir,' before leaving.

Tsunade looked up at him. "You take my home, you have your goons take my eye, and now you take my alcohol?"

"Well, first off, I simply took back from you what I made yours. What I no longer care for. Then, they aren't goons. They are my friends. Thirdly, it's not your alcohol."

"It's still my glass."

Naruto sighed. He drank the last of his drink before throwing the glass at a wall, shattering it. He then pulled a smooth glass from his seal and poured more into the new glass.

"Happy?" he asked. "Also, this isn't even alcohol. It's tea. Want some?" he said before sliding her the glass and making yet another for himself.

Tsunade took the glass and noticed that the tea was still hot. Not steaming, but hot.

"Wondering about the heat? Preservation seal," Naruto said. "Preserves all aspects of the quality. Even heat."

Tsunade drank from it, deciding not to question it. "So now what?"

"Well, tomorrow I'm going to execute you and anyone else who stands for your archaic world."

Tsunade looked up at him. "Why don't I just kill you now then?"

"You're wounded and don't stand a chance at killing me. Besides, if I wanted to, I could fly you up higher than anyone before you has ever gone and drop you," he said before making a whistling noise that got lower over a few seconds before he made the sound of a small crash. He gave a small chuckle.

"Come on Tsunade, laugh while you can. Enjoy your tea. Relax. Things are finally about to become what I have always dreamed of. We will finally have peace."

"You might have peace, but I'm going to be dead and my village is going to be under your thumb."

"You are killing me with the negativity."

She scoffed. "If only."

He sighed. "I tried offering you a chance at this once before. But you never could see past what you wanted to see. I always hated you for that."

"So why the tea?"

"Are you complaining? Listen. You're here because you have made mistakes. As have I. So, I'm offering you a toast. To grand mistakes of Earthshattering proportions."

"So that's it? A toast?"

"That's it."

"Why?"

Naruto reached under the desk and tossed her a bottle of her alcohol. "You're about to be taken to your cell. I suggest you drink all that you can. Tomorrow you die."

"What is this? Honor among shinobi?"

"As someone who, in my opinion at the very least, has no honor, I suggest you not question mine or how I act on it. I have given all a shot at redemption. Most have refused. Like you did. So, go back to your cell. Think on your sins. And I suggest you start hoping that everything good you've done in your life is enough to make up for every wrong."

As Naruto said this, another guard came in and lifted Tsunade up. She was being moved out of the room as she spoke up.

"What about your sins? When you're done, will your good deeds outweigh your sins?" She never got her answer as she was dragged through the door.

Naruto sighed. "Tsunade, I wonder that same question all the time. Redemption. It's something we all seek." He then started laughing. He stood up and looked out the window. His arms spread out like the smile on his face. "Everyone seeks redemption at the close!"

He then turned to the door and called in one of the guards.

"Is the other one here yet?" he asked.

"She's waiting just outside."

"Good. Send her in."

Within moments, the guard was gone and Ino Yamanaka walked in.

"It has been so long Ino. How the years fly by."

Ino nodded. "Yes, they do. So why did you want to see me exactly? I wouldn't think it was to catch up. You and I weren't exactly on good terms when you left."

"No, but that's changed. The biggest reason you are here is that I need to make sure you can accept the new...management."

"You want to know if I'm going to cause any trouble over the village being taken over."

He nodded. "Basically."

"I'm sure you already know how my opinion of you changed over the years. Several people changed like that over the years. But, you'll notice I haven't answered your question. No, I won't cause any kind of resistance or rebellion. I've seen the kind of power and prosperity your people have been experiencing. I'm not going to challenge that."

"Good. Now a slightly different question. What's your opinion of me and my forces? My village and empire and its people?"

"My opinion? I'm not entirely sure exactly. Most of these people are put off by you. I've decided to hold my opinion for later. I've seen plenty, but I really don't know much. I think I'll hold just about all judgments until after this war."

"After the war? I do hope you form a good opinion of me before that."

"And why is that?"

"Why? I have my own doubts about whether or not most of the people alive right now shall remain that way up to the end of this war. So, now it's time I ask if you're willing to fight beside me in this war."

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ dragged a beaten and bloodied Tsunade onto the stage they had spent the last few hours constructing. The whole village would watch as she died. He was going to make absolutely sure of that. He was particularly glad that Zabuza and the others and rejoined the main force. Now that they were in control of Taki again, they also had Kakuzu. All that mattered now was getting back Fuu. The only problem was that Zetsu probably had her by now.

Naruto put Tsunade down on her knees in the center of a row of people, Sasuke being just to the left of her, and leaned next to her for a moment. "I'm glad you took my advice and drank."

"Why do you care?"

"Redemption, Tsunade. Everyone deserves a moment or chance at redemption."

Naruto then stood up and looked out at the crowd that had been gathered. "Now then, I think the first part of business should be Sasuke Uchiha," he said. He gestured to the Uchiha. "His fate shall not be decided by me, however, as it is his brother's responsibility. Itachi."

Itachi stepped forward from the side. He stepped in front of his brother and looked at him. Naruto stepped up and leaned in.

"So then, my friend. Are you ready to do this?"

Itachi nodded. "Sasuke. Your punishment," he sighed. "Your punishment is to be banished."

"Banished?"

Naruto spoke loudly. "Sasuke Uchiha is to be banished to lands to the west of the elemental nations. Now that that's settled, on to the scheduled execution."

Itachi stepped off to the side while one of the guards dragged Sasuke off the stage.

Along the row of people who were about to be executed were Choji, Choza, Tsume, Inoichi, and several Jounin and ANBU.

Several Uzu ANBU lined up behind their designated wards.

Naruto called Zabuza over. The man happily gave him his blade. He gave a slight bow before Zabuza went back to his spot.

"Blades at the ready," Naruto said. He hefted the Executioner's Blade up over his shoulder. Several of the other shinobi readied their own blades. He was about to speak when he noticed a woman in the front with her eyes closed. He disappeared and reappeared in front of her, placing his hand under her chin and making her look at him. "You will witness what happens here today. All eyes to the front. You must watch dear, it'll all be over soon." He then reappeared at the stage behind Tsunade.

He spoke up again. "I came here with one very simple goal. To destroy corruption and bring peace. So now? Now I end this. Behold as the ones you put all your hope in die. They failed."

Naruto was soundless as he brought the blade down on top of Tsunade's head. He didn't expect the result, but did not complain. The blade not only dug into her head, but cleave her body clean in half from top to bottom. It was done. It was finally done. Now so little remained.

* * *

 _ **"I**_ still think that that choice was stupid. Execution or banishment to the Badlands?" Itachi asked

"Yes, yes. The constant storms. The wild animals. The legends. Don't forget that it was our ancestors that turned them into the 'Badlands.' The constant war between Uchiha and Senju? When the Uzumaki split off? That ancient land of war was turned into an uninhabitable hellhole thanks to those people. Once the surgeries to properly reconnect his arm are finished, he won't have much trouble surviving."

"I don't agree."

"I'm not asking you to agree. But the sheer truth is that with his chakra reserves being what they are and his EMS, he could keep the most basic form of the Susanoo active for years."

"I still don't like sentencing my brother to that life."

"It was either this, a life in a deep dark hole in the ground, or execution. I let you choose."

"I didn't get the option of putting in a hole where he would be alive."

"I wasn't going to let him live after everything he did. This is the closest middle ground we could reach. He is still alive, but he is gone."

Itachi sighed. "Fine. So now what? How do we proceed?"

"We give everyone a few days to rest. Then? Then we go to Zetsu's hideout and do what he's been trying to avoid up to now. We break down his door and bring the fight to his doorstep. I'm hoping that this can go without them getting the rest of the pieces of the Juubi, but I get this feeling that no matter how I try to stop it, I will eventually be standing face to face with Kaguya Otsutsuki. What about you, Izuna? What are your thoughts on all of this?"

Izuna, who had remained silent until now leaned forward. "To learn that my brother and I, our entire clan, was always being manipulated...I'll help you. I would even if I wasn't brought back by this jutsu. I need to talk some sense into my brother."

"You can do that all you want, but Zetsu will never give him control of his own body. He'll be a slave. You can make sure he knows, which might help him resist, but that will be all."

"That's enough for me."

"Good. Now we must prepare. It's time for war."

* * *

 _ **Kichigai**_ stood in one of the practice fields, repeatedly firing off Raiton jutsu. The crackling electricity that surged around him easily sliced through trees and targets alike. He sighed and cut off the flow of his chakra into the jutsu.

He had been at this for several hours now, not sure of anything else he needed to do.

"You feeling a bit better now?"

Kichigai turned to see Fuu standing there, leaning against a tree.

"What are you doing here?" Kichigai asked.

"Well, this is a public training ground in the village I live in. So..."

"Yeah, yeah. I get it."

"So then, you feeling better?"

He sighed. "No. I'm not."

She stood up straight and walked over to him. "Well, I'm not exactly sure how to help you there."

"Then why are you here?"

"I'm not really sure. I guess there were a few things I needed to say to you."

"I don't need your words." Kichigai turned away from her and looked down at his hands, seeing that they were shaking.

"I think you do. After becoming whole, you really don't know what to do with yourself. So, I want you to listen to what I have to say."

She paused a moment to see if he would object. He didn't.

"You keep moping about how you don't have a purpose anymore and you're going to wind up dying before you can do anything about it. I suggest you figure out exactly what it is you want out of all this before it's too late."

"And what exactly should I want from all of this?"

Fuu shrugged. "How should I know? It's not like I know what you should want. But you really should decide soon. After all, most of us will be going soon."

"What does that mean?"

"The eight are heading out soon to help the Uzukage against Zetsu. The official orders are for almost everyone to remain behind, but just about everyone is going. I suppose they all know that everyone here is in danger."

"So what? Are you asking if I'm going to go help too? If I'm going to fight as well?"

"I'm telling you that if you truly want anything, you better figure out what it is before everyone is gone and most everyone winds up dead. The rest of the world isn't going to stand by and wait for you to make up your mind."

"I know. It's just, my entire life, both within Naruto's mind and outside have been spent as nothing but madness with the goal to destroy in the end. I don't know enough about what else I'm supposed to want."

"Well, I do pity you on that part, but it's time to choose."

Those words echoed in his mind for a moment. The same words had been used by his fragments. The words to show when it was finally time to choose a path for survival.

"You know, back when I was a fragmented being of madness, one of my fragments said the same thing. It's time to choose a path for survival. Well then, perhaps it is time I choose. Leave me to my thoughts for now. Let's see where it all gboes from there."

Fuu nodded before walking away from the field. Kichigai thought things through for a moment, wondering exactly what move he should make. He looked at his shaking hands. He knew it. Fear. That's what was making them shake. He moved them through a few hand signs before two clones appeared in front of him, one looking exactly like him, the other slightly different. His breathing faltered.

He fell to his knees his heart stopped for a moment. All of a sudden it was beating again, nearly twice as fast as it was before. It was almost a minute before his heartbeat returned to normal. Looking up at the clones, he nodded.

"So that's what that feels like. I just hope he appreciates this. Well, that and that I don't even need to use his card as my own."

The clones then took off, heading towards where Kichigai's own body had been when he took over.

"Interesting choice," a voice said from behind. "To help a once-foe with a plus one chance he knows nothing about."

He turned around and saw Skull standing there. "What do you want now? Gonna say some more cryptic things and not be much help...again?"

"As I recall, I'm a 'cryptic bastard.'"

"Yeah, yeah I get it."

"What do you want from life?"

"What do I want? What kind of question is that?"

"The kind you should answer."

"And if I don't?"

"You're afraid. Too afraid not to. As much as you want answers, you're too afraid of not getting them to not answer my question."

"You see a lot, Skull. But are you strong enough to point that high-powered perception at yourself? How about it? Look at yourself and tell the truth. Tell me what you see. Or maybe you're afraid to."

Skull let out a dark chuckle. "You are a tough one. Aren't you. Reasonably so, I guess. Yes. And you'd hate to think you were common. My, wouldn't that sting! Well, you're far from common, Madness. All you have is the fear of it. Nothing more."

"Just shut up and talk to me here!"

"My, what a contradiction. However, you want me to talk to you? You know I usually don't speak to anyone."

"So what. Open up for once and help me out here."

"You want to know where my knowledge comes from? What my thoughts are? I once had a woman I loved. It was more than just confusing. Irritating. Maddening! A grating against my very skull. I had never felt something like that for anyone. One day, I decide to finally ask her about it. On that day, she and her father and mother and brother and sister are taken by a group of soulless monsters. Mercs. Murderers. Bandits. Slave traders. They raped her mother, her sister, and her while making them watch as they killed her father and brother. When I finally hunted them all down, it had already been a year."

"A year? They were kept alive that long?"

"You will find that people like that can find all sorts of reasons to keep a woman alive for as long as they please. Anyways, I eventually found that her mother had died. She had tried resisting one day and bit one of them. The one she bit was in surgery for so long, it made me laugh when I found out he had to live the rest of his life without what some of those men treasured most. But, he killed her in his rage. But when I found the woman and her sister, do you know what I found?"

"Of course not. But I'll bite. What did you find?"

Skull snickered a bit before falling somber again. "She had killed her sister in the chaos of my attack. Her sister had asked her to. What did she do when I found her? She didn't thank me for finally saving her. She didn't cry. She just looked up at me and asked me to kill her. She had been unable to take her own life. She was too afraid. So I granted her request. Why? I discovered in the instant she asked me to do that that I would do anything for her, no matter what. That is what that feeling is. The feeling of love. But now I carry her forever with me." As he finished, he brushed his hand against the skull on his head.

"That's her skull, isn't it?"

"Yes. As you can tell, I had to separate the jaw and remove some of the back and sides so it could fit, but yes. It is hers."

"Is that why you usually don't talk?"

"No. Habit from long before. Thank you for hearing me. That is all I can do to help you, Kichigai."

"How does that help me?"

"Your fragment of love came to care for this village and some of the people in it. The question is, will you also do anything for these people. You see? The point of all this is that no matter what, no one can help you with this. You must make up your own mind for this decision,"

Skull then disappeared in a blur of smoke.

Kichigai smirked. "Asshole," he mumbled to himself. "Only problem is that I still don't know what to do with myself."

He then looked as a small note floating in the air in front of him. He grabbed it and read it.

' _Not every result can be the one desired. Trust your own judgments and actions. That is enough._

_-Skull'_

"Time for war then."


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adding another three chapters at a time again which will catch it up to my Wattpad posting. Chapters 20, 21, and 22. And yes I'll be putting this note in all three again.

_**Ochiai**_ hefted a large broad sword over his shoulder. That blade was both once and a half as long as his body and as wide as his midsection. The entirety of the metal was pitch black with a crimson edge.

He turned to the entire village standing there, ready to leave the village with him. He let out a heavy breath and looked at those beside him. Shiina. Douglas. Genkaku. Kuroh. Skull. Balalaika. Fuu. Crow. And Kichigai.

"I do thank you all for deciding to fight alongside me. So now, I must take my leave of you." Ochiai said.

He activated an explosive and collapsed the entrance, as well as every other. Before anyone could start trying to clear it away, he placed his hand on the boulders and sealed the entire village behind a barrier.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Fuu shouted, trying to grab Ochiai.

Balalaika grabbed her.

He rounded on her and stared her down. "I will not allow them all to fight. Most of them are little more than civilians. The seal will disappear upon my death or upon my return. Now come on. We have a war to get to."

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ stood aboard one of the dropships ready to move in as soon as he gave the signal. He was scared somewhat. Even though they had the statue hidden away, Black Zetsu had been making White Zetsu for decades. He knew what he was about to do wouldn't be enough, so fear had set in. Finally, he gave a sigh.

"Uzukage to Bahamut. Fire the main cannon and immediately start releasing landing ships," Naruto said.

A few seconds passed before he felt his ship shake and start to descend. There was a loud explosion. He looked out of a window and saw that where the Bahamut's guns had hit, the ground was starting to collapse. As the ground finally stopped moving, he thought that might have been it, nothing on the ground giving any sighs the there was anything alive. Then he saw it. At first, it was just a trickle of them from between stones. And then, all at once, the entire ground started being covered in White Zetsu as they poured from the ground. Then he also realized that the ship was about to land. It was about to begin. He walked up to the door and opened it, allowing the whipping wind to enter the craft. Looking down, a lump formed in his throat. He swallowed it and jumped, quickly landing on the ground.

He blocked a punch from one of the White Zetsu pouring from the tunnels. He had expected many, but not the horde that was enveloping his forces as rapidly as they landed. He delivered a kick that ripped the top half of his opponent from the bottom half. Drawing his sword, he went about hacking apart every enemy he could. There was a small reprieve as a blast of fire took out several dozen of them. He looked over to see Itachi.

"We will try to keep fighting them. I'll try to keep from using the Susanoo so we don't have to worry about our forces getting in the way. You go and see if you can't cut the head off the snake."

Naruto nodded at Itachi's words and started ducking through the Zetsu towards the cave. As he cut through any that got in his way.

He weaved through the crowd, Anko landing beside him as they went.

"You're going after Kabuto?" She asked.

"Yes. You want to handle him?"

"I do, but I can't handle him on my own."

"You don't mean-"

"Yeah. When we find him, do it.

He eventually saw one of the key targets. Kabuto.

He then saw Kabuto moving through several hand seals. He tried to move forward to stop him, but it was too late. Coffins started rising from the ground and opened to reveal several shinobi from different eras.

"Shit!" Naruto shouted. He started flying through his own hand seals. "May the world forgive me for what I'm about to unleash."

Kinkaku and Ginkaku leaped into the air and were about to attack the Uzu Five before a massive wall of snakes blocked their assault.

There was a sound of dark laughing for a moment. "So you brought me back boy? Bold move."

The snakes retracted rapidly up the sleeves of Orochimaru's shirt.

"Orochimaru. I don't like saying it, but I need your help. I need you to deal with your disciple," Naruto said as he landed next to the dead Sannin.

Orochimaru looked around before he saw Kabuto walking towards them. "Ah, Kabuto. So you have changed quite a bit in my absence."

Kabut smirked and held his arms up so the sleeves fell and showed his arms. "What do you think, Lord Orochimaru?"

The Sannin laughed. "Honestly? I'm a bit underwhelmed."

Kabuto did a double-take at that.

"I'll leave you two alone," Naruto said before taking off to continue fighting.

"What do you mean underwhelmed? I've perfected the Edo Tensei. I have even gone so far as to do what you never could. I've gained the Sage mode."

Orochimaru gave a slight hum in thought. "That is impressive but far less than I expected of you. I expected you to have done quite a bit more with yourself. With all my research and limitless potential? But instead you serve Zetsu? Not only an old member of the Akatsuki...but a mere shadow of a long since gone person's will."

"I'm not his servant!"

"Then where is Black Zetsu? You stand here and fight alongside his army, but where is he?"

"Shut up! You were killed so easily. But with his help I was able to become far more powerful than you!"

"Oh? More powerful than me? You forget yourself in the presence of your teacher. Or have you forgotten?"

"I've forgotten nothing. Now I shall show exactly how far I have surpassed you." Kabuto then threw off his cloak to show his body change. Horns grew on his head and the body of a snake grew from his belly.

Orochimaru smiled. "What a neat trick Kabuto. But not enough to stop me."

In a blur, several hundred snakes appeared and swarmed Kabuto.

Kabuto's body changed as he rapidly moved to escape. As he dodged another wave of snakes, he moved through several hand signs.

"Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation!"

The ground came to life and tore through the snakes before going after Orochimaru himself. Orochimaru brought up a single Rashomon that disrupted the ground momentarily, allowing him to maneuver through the living ground.

Kabuto was about to prepare another jutsu before another wall of snakes came at him from behind.

He moved to avoid it, only catching the katar at the last second.

The blade went through his old body as he coughed up a new one and moved off to the side. He then moved into a crouching position in time to see Anko behind him and Orochimaru in front of him just before the ground erupted around him.

He knew one thing. He needed to get underground where he had the advantage.

* * *

 _ **Zabuza,**_ on the other side of the battlefield, cleaved through several enemies before realizing that some of the Zetsu were becoming those they got too close to.

He started shouting orders to the other ninja swordsmen and some of the forces under his command. "Keep them back! Kisame, Chojuro! Keep them away with jutsu! Don't let them get the chakra from your blades!"

Large explosions of water were the response to his orders.

"Searing Migraine!"

Hurricanes of fire blazed across the field as Kakuzu, who had been recovered from Taki during Suigetsu's raid, directed his hearts.

Zabuza looked over to the now cleared area and gave a small nod to Kakuzu that was returned.

They then turned their attention to the battle as shards of ice of varying size, shape, and sharpness flew through the air at them.

Haku, who was standing at Zabuza's side in an instant, brought up a large wall of his own ice.

As the ice stopped flying, Haku brought down his wall. He was curious about who of his clan would have been brought back from the dead, but he knew he could never have been prepared for what he saw in front of him.

He saw others standing around her, previous members of the Swordsmen of The Mist, but it was only her he focused on. This woman is simple clothes, and long, dark black hair. He then calmed down once he took in every detail.

"Haku? You alright?" Zabuza asked.

A dragon of ice formed around Haku. "Zabuza, direct the current swordsmen against the old. I'll handle this."

"You sure?"

"Go. This is a family matter."

Zabuza directed the swordsmen who broke off and started taking on the former generation. Haku simply stared the one in the center down.

"It figures they would bring back an ice user to fight alongside the previous ninja swordsmen as I do."

"Who are you?" the woman asked.

"It figures you don't recognize me, Mother. The last time you saw me was when you refused to kill Father when he found out about our abilities. And now you are on a battlefield, reanimated from the dead to fight me."

"Haku? But I thought-"

"You thought I would die at the hands of Father like you? No. I killed him and his mob. And then I lived alone and dying for the longest time. Now, I know you feel the urge to fight me. So fight me. I'm not afraid. After my family was killed I was trained under one of the greatest shinobi of his time."

Haku launched forward, the dragon moving alongside him, as a smooth spear of ice formed in his hand. His mother dodged as he tried to impale her.

She moved around to dodge his attacks before placing the palm of her hand against the ground. Spires of ice shot up out of the ground. Haku had his dragon form a protective sphere around him. She watched as the sphere opened only to surprise her to be empty. She then looked down at her chest as Haku's spear was sticking out from where her heart would be.

Haku's voice growled from behind her. "Sumika Yuki! You have failed this world! As you failed me all those years ago!"

"H-Haku."

"Father came after us both and what did you do?"

He ripped the spear from her and parried the downward swing of a blade of ice Sumika brought down at him.

Haku backed off a moment. "You begged him to spare you and I so we could live our peaceful life. But from that day, even if he had let you live, it would only have been a peaceful lie! You laid yourself down before him, but we could both see in his eyes he was never going to spare us. I had to kill him with you gone! I had to suffer alone."

Sumika rushed in and went to stab Haku as he formed a shield of ice on his arm, blocking the attack.

"I'm so sorry. I never meant for that to happen," Sumika said, each of them struggling against the other. "I only wanted us to live peacefully. That's why I didn't want you to ever show someone your abilities."

"It is far too late for that."

"I know. But at least now I can do everything to keep you alive. Behind you!"

Haku's moved up into the air, jumping onto his ice dragon just as waves of ice crystals drove into Sumika, crushing everything in their path. He landed a few yards away and crouched with a new spear in hand and his dragon behind him. He then watched, astonished, as his mother reformed, not by the ashes these zombies would normally. She reformed from her ice crystals.

As her face reformed, a large portion of her body remained as crystals. "There was one thing I always wished I could have told you. The reason I craved a peaceful life so much was because I was a monster during the war. I was a living weapon, able to crystalize my entire body and reform it at will. I could even melt some of the parts and get into the enemies drinking supply to freeze and kill them from the inside. I was one of the most powerful members of our clan."

Haku looked stunned a moment before smiling and laughing. "Then you'll give me a challenge. Don't think you were the only one to become powerful. I found plenty of records on the Hyoushou Oni. The Ice Crystal Demon. I just never thought it was you. I'm glad to know my skills in studying our blood came from somewhere."

As he said this, his arms disintegrated into shards of ice. "Full body deconstruction is still outside my abilities, but I've still come a long way in other areas. Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!"

A massive dome of mirrors formed over them. Not only did Sumika notice that the mirrors were large than usual, but she was rather shocked to see something else.

"Two...Four...Eight...There are forty-two mirrors here." Sumika said. "Not twenty-one. How can you maintain so many mirrors in such a smooth dome? Even I could only hold thirty, and they were never stable for long."

"As I said before, I have come a long way in other areas. But it gets even better."

He stepped into one of the mirrors, his dragon dissolving into his arms before the dome started gyrating, each row spinning in a different direction.

"Now then, let's see who is stronger, Mother!"

* * *

 _ **Black**_ Zetsu, using Madara's body as his own, sat within the cave. In front of him was a body in the center of a sealing array. It was the body he had using the Rinnegan on the jinchurriki. With the other bodies surrounding the one in the center, once enough chakra was amassed, it would also be his tool to reviving Madara.

He then looked to his left, seemingly into nothing.

" **So he did leave Obito in Uzu. I guess it's a good thing I sent another army there ahead of me. But soon enough I'll need to go myself. There is no way that an army of Zetsu and a few zombies can do everything I need to be done."**

"That's going to be a bit difficult to do, even for you," Naruto said as he walked into the atrium of the cave. Kureo and Kagari were beside him.

" **And why is that?"** Zetsu asked.

"Because those fortresses giving your army so much trouble? Those things are mobile."

* * *

 _ **Obito**_ stood at the end of the main canon of one of the fortresses around the island nation of Uzu. From the reports they were getting, an army of Zetsu were on their way. He knew that right about now the rest of the army would be making contact with Black Zetsu's main force. This was why he was here. To defend the village.

"Masamune, you ready?" Obito asked through the device in his ear.

Date Masamune stood on the beaches with a small army. "I failed to protect this nation before. I won't do so again."

"Good to know. You're about to get your chance."

Obito then jumped down onto the deck of the fortress and started shouting orders.

"Ready the main cannon! Maximize output in that first shot and then keep up a constant barrage with the main cannon and the other guns. Send these orders to the other fortresses. And to the fortresses on the other side of the island with no clear shot, tell them to begin the next phase early. We need them ready."

Without warning, several Zetsu burst out of the water and landed on the deck of the fortress. They took down one of the guards before Obito opened a portal back into the ocean in its chest. As each one fell over dead, more jumped on.

"Time to accelerate the plan! Fire down into the water! Activate the Trump Card Protocol!" Obito yelled.

Every Zetsu on board stopped moving as the fortress shook. And then it started rising out of the water.

* * *

 _ **Tayuya**_ swung her staff, hitting Ginkaku in the face. He simply shrugged it off and grabbed her wrist.

The Uzu Five had been struggling against these two brothers, constantly needing to retreat to avoid attacks, and being unable to communicate properly as most of them were unsure of their own most used word. They all had to use caution in a battle that to use too much caution would cost them.

Kinkaku was about to bring his fist down on Sakon. That fist, instead, collided with the flat of a pitch-black broad sword.

"Kinkaku. Ginkaku. It has been quite some time."

The brothers looked up at the one holding the sword, though Kinkaku recognized the blade and was already feeling the fear growing.

"O-Ochiai." Ginkaku stammered out.

Ochiai smiled. "Miss me?"

He barely moved the sword as it easily sliced through Kinkaku, leaving seals behind as it went. The seals engulfed the gold brother.

Ginkaku tried to move to help his brother, but a large fist came down and crushed him. Douglas used a small sealing tag to wrap the body in tendrils that sprouted from the ground.

"You're Ochiai?" Tayuya asked. "I guess I should thank you."

"No. You should get back to battling this army," Ochiai said.

Ochiai then waved to Shiina and Douglas to follow him as he rejoined the rest of the eight. Crow and Kichigai had broken off to fight in different areas. He stood next to his seven friends. Even while he hadn't known some of them very well, like Douglas and Skull, he was glad to fight beside them. He remembered the last time he had fought beside Shinna, Douglas, Balalaika, and Genkaku. Now it will happen again.

"My friends, let us fight together again," Ochiai said.

"I have waited long for this day," Shinna mumbled.

Douglas laughed. "We will fight with you once more."

Balalaika sneered. "Been a while since I saw this part of you. Welcome back, boss."

Ochiai smiled. "It's good to be back. Now that all five of us are together, it's time we go to the depths of hell itself."

Skull looked up and noticed that stray balls of fire had caused clouds to accumulate and rain to start falling. He hummed to himself as he felt a dark shadow form behind him. He knew no one else could see it, but the form it took made him happy he alone felt it. He took comfort in its presence.

Looking up, he mumbled to himself. "It's raining blood. Is she crying? Do not cry my dear, for we shall be together again soon."

Returning his gaze to the battlefield, he drew a thin and long blade from his back. The handle was blood red with a pure black jewel as the guard. The blade itself was silver with strange carvings along the blade.

He dodged a punch from one of the many Zetsu and went to slice it in two before a burst of air fired through its head. He turned to see Genkaku smirking with the two mechanisms from his divided guitar in each hand.

Before Skull could say thanks, Genkaku spun around to fire at many of the Zetsu as they closed in. Skull swung his sword in a long ark, kicking up dirt and dust into the eyes of some of the enemies. He jumped up and kicked one in the face before turning to another and stabbing them in the chest.

As the creature doubled over, Skull was unable to get the sword out as he was forced to dodge a kunai flying through the air by spinning over the Zetsu he had stabbed. He spun around over its back and rolled off. As his feet reconnected with the ground, he spun to punch a reanimated corpse in the face, then taking its weapon and stabbing another Zetsu in the stomach. Another corpse came at him with a sword. He grabbed this one's wrist and twisted it, using the sword to defend against the blade of the first one. With the first one deflected, he twisted around and stabbed the corpse with his own blade.

Before he could apply a sealing tag, he had to duck beneath the blade of the first once again. He spun it around and slapped it in the face. The second one came behind him and grabbed him as the first turned around and tried to bring an ax down on him. He twisted out of the grip, allowing the ax to bite into the shoulder of the second corps rather than his own head.

He turned to the first which he head-butted and kneed in the belly. He shoved the first away in time to use his own wrist to knock away the wrist of a third corpse that tried to bring a sword down on him. He punched this third one in the face, placing a sealing tag on its chin.

The second came from behind and tried to stab him, only to have its wrist broken as his sword was twisted and jammed into his own stomach. He finally placed a tag on the second and dodged just in time to duck under the first's sword and get in close. He gripped the first's skull and applied another sealing tag.

It was as the three fell that he realized the Zetsu weren't moving on him.

' _Of course. They can see her power guiding me. Making me war incarnate!' h_ e thought to himself.

He shot forward, grabbing one Zetsu by the neck, twisting the neck and throwing the body at some of the others, chuckling to himself as he went.

He stopped and took a few moments to look at the other immortals. They were all distracted. Ochiai destroying Zetsu and sealing corpses with his blade, Genkeku shooting holes into his enemies, and crow using his blood to easily carve through his targets.

Skull grabbed his sword and started weaving through the crowds and headed towards his new targets.

' _My dearest, we shall be together again. Soon. Soon. Soon!_ _ **Soon!**_ _'_

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ went to slam his fist into the ground where Zetsu once stood, angered that he was unable to destroy the body with the Rinnegan. The body protected by an extremely powerful barrier. He would need to bring Black Zetsu down first.

As Madara's body was directed, Naruto jumped to the side to avoid a massive undulating sword. Kagari formed his Susanoo as armor around him as well as a large arm to grab Madara's blade.

Kureo cackled like a maniac as his wooden armor sprouted weapons from each hand. From his right was a missive spinal structure stitched together by roots with spikes coming out of each segment and the end. The one on the left was a four-petal flower structure.

Naruto rushed in with his sword and nearly impaled Zetsu when his Susanoo flared to life, forming another sword that slammed into the roof of the cave, bringing it down.

Each of the three formed their own defenses as Zetsu started gathering up chakra.

" **It's time I went to Uzu to get back what you and Obito have been keeping from me,"** Zetsu said.

Naruto burst through some of the rubble. "You destroyed a part of my home before! I won't be absent again!" he said, grabbing onto Zetsu just as he disappeared in a shunshin.

Kagari and Kureo finally uncovered themselves and looked around.

"What the hell was that?" Kureo asked.

"I'm not sure," Kagari said. "Let's go find out."

They each then pulled out a Hiraishin kunai and got ready to jump to Naruto when a voice halted them.

"You mind taking me with you?" Kichigai asked, appearing above them in the hole in the ground.

* * *

 _ **Date**_ slashed through several Zetsu as he weaved around to avoid the six-legged fortress as it moved over the beach. He had each of his blades in between his fingers. As an explosion from one of the fortresses, forcing him to back up. He backed up into Obito, leaving them back to back as they used their respective blades to fight off multiple enemies.

Obito opened a portal in or underneath several Zetsu. He decided to have some fun with the physics of it all by opening two of his wormholes directly above each other, causing the Zetsu to rapidly build speed before sending them flying in a different direction.

Date fist-bumped him as he laughed and went back to his own enemies. He stabbed the blades on his right hand through the chest of one of the Zetsu and began using the body as a shield. Once the fragile body began to fall apart he threw it at one that was getting too close.

" **SHINRA TENSEI!"**

All at once, there was a massive explosion that even the Zetsu had to brace for. One of the fortresses that had been moving was unable to find purchase in time and was knocked off its feet.

Obito's face faltered. "Oh, crap."

"What is it?" Date asked.

"Black Zetsu just appeared. And Naruto's not only with him, he's pissed."

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ coughed, not expecting the sword in his stomach, nor the blood to pour from his mouth. The taste assaulted his senses.

After they had appeared in the air above Uzu and Zetsu used Shinra Tensei, Naruto had been forced back for a moment. He activated his shroud a second too late before the sword pierced his flesh.

Black Zetsu went to place his hand on Naruto to extract Kurama.

Naruto laughed. He pulled a kunai out before they disappeared and reappeared back on the main battlefield, though several thousand feet in the air. He then stabbed the kunai into his own chest.

"This time...you get nothing," Naruto said.

" **Even if you die, I still have Kinkaku and Ginkaku,"** Zetsu said.

"I guess so. Oh well. Lucky me I can slow you down."

Naruto's body exploded with fire as several explosive tags went off. As the smoke cleared, Zetsu looked down at the rapidly approaching ground. He was about to activate the Susanoo when there was a flash of light followed by a blade ripping through his chest and slicing it open.

Zetsu turned as the body repaired to see Naruto falling.

"I forgot to tell you Zetsu! I have my own secret for immortality!"

He then grabbed Zetsu and disappeared again, this time reappearing above the desolate land where Iwa once was.

" **Why here?"** Zetsu asked.

Naruto activated his shroud, wings, tails, and armor all forming around him. "Why? Because the level of destruction we are about to inflict upon this land will be more than my people can take."

Zetsu's Susanoo activated, quickly advancing it into its perfect form.

" **I must ask, where did that immortality of yours come from?"** Zetsu asked.

"You really don't know much, do you? I expected more from someone who has observed so much," Naruto said before charging in, using his shroud to clash swords with Zetsu's Susanoo.

He parried a cut from above, sending it to the left before countering with an upward slash, aiming to cut the head and destroy Zetsu. The counter failed as his opponent jumped backward to avoid further damage.

Zetsu chuckled. **"I have a life outside of you."**

"Be that as it may, you didn't have a life outside the Sage of Six Paths and his family. After all, I thought you would have known that one of my techniques is entirely based on an attempt at immortality. The shadow clone. I never did like my dependence on it. That's why I've been spending so long to make it all but worthless to me. But the years have made one thing very clear. I can't deny the results."

" **What are you talking about?"** Zetsu asked, genuinely curious now.

Naruto's shroud opened its maw and started building up a Bijuu Dama.

" _You about ready Kurama?"_ Naruto asked in his mindscape.

" _ **Ready Kit. Just give the word."**_

"There have always been records of the Sage's power, one such being what Nagato would one day call the Six Paths of Pain," Naruto said as the Bijuu Dama grew in size. "Orochimaru also had a spark from this jutsu the day he came to a theory no one else had considered. A theory he would one day find was correct. The old sage once tried his hand at immortality so that he could contain the Juubi for all time, rather than set it loose upon the world at his death. He thought that by exerting his will upon these bodies, he could outlast, or perhaps even preserve his own."

" **He clearly failed."**

"That he did, but not before setting in play what would become the basis of my continued existence. As it so happens, should someone ever be able to amass enough chakra and then move so much of that chakra into a clone, so much that it leaves them on the verge of death, then that clone essentially becomes a second body. But that verge of death part is a problem. Only someone who is a Jinchuuriki, or has been affected by enough bijuu chakra that they gain healing abilities near that of a Jinchuuriki, can survive without suffering from heart failure after a few minutes. This death makes the technique pointless to have."

" **These clones, when you die, are used to help you reincarnate yourself?"**

"In a manner of speaking. Chakra is the manifestation of both physical and spiritual energy, yes? When a person dies, the spiritual separates from the physical, going who knows where. But, if you have a clone stocked with a strong enough amount of your own physical and spiritual energy, it acts as a sort of tether, allowing your remaining spiritual energy to reconnect with that of the clone. This essentially allows me to move bodies when I die. And as soon as my actual self enters the clone, it becomes as real as my own body. Actually, I should be able to do the same should I store enough of my chakra into something like a puppet or such, the same thing would work. In theory anyway."

" **There is already a glaring weakness to that."**

"Yes, there are. It is not only easy for the clones to be destroyed before I take them over, but only so many can be produced in a set amount of time. Should I be killed past that number, there is no coming back."

" **Then all I have to do is keep killing you."**

"You can try!" Naruto shouted before firing his Bijuu Dama.

* * *

 _ **Han**_ ran across the battle field, steam trailing behind him as he took down Zetsu left and right. One of them went for his shoulder to try and absorb his chakra before a golden spear flew through its chest. It looked down before the spear turned to dust that collected within its body and then expanded outward.

As the Zetsu died, Han looked over at Gaara who was controlling several limbs of sand and other materials to toss around several of the creatures. He was about to thank the Kazekage before gold dust destroyed the area. Looking over to another area, he realized he needed to keep moving rather than get caught in a family matter between Gaara and his father.

He charged forward and laughed as some of the Zetsu tried to get out of his way. He threw a single punch that went through four of them at once. As one was sent through the air by an explosion, he grabbed it by the leg and punched it into the ground. The furnace on his back fired off jets of steam into the Zetsu behind him.

As destruction went across the field, Han took inventory of the changes in the landscape and all the walls and other defensive barriers that had been brought up from the ground. He then turned his attention to new opponents.

Several reanimated corpses went after him before he punched one, sending it flying through the air. He then punched another one in the gut before spinning it around and kicking it towards a third. The second, still moving from the momentum of the kick, wound up head-butting the third in the groin.

The third let out a yelp of pain before trying to warn the second. The second turned around just in time for Han to crash into them, his steam fueling his speed.

The first finally regenerated and picked himself up. He looked over at Han fighting the other two before running off. "Forget this. I need to find a bigger weapon," he said.

As they got back up, the third one ducked under a large rock Han sent flying at him, allowing it to crash into the second. The third fired off a storm of small fireballs that Han easily rolled forward to avoid.

Just as the second one got back to his feet, Han grabbed them both by the necks and slammed their heads together. He punched the second in the chest, turned to the third to punch him in the face, and then kicked the second off to the side.

He landed a barrage of punches onto the third's stomach and chest, even bringing a fist down on his head. He then kneed him, sending him to the ground.

The third tried to stop him as he went to punch him in the groin. He shouted in pain again, grabbing his groin, before getting kicked into a nearby Mud Wall.

Han then ducked down as an explosive tag attached to a kunai went flying over his head. He turned to see the first standing there with rocks covering most his arm and a giant stone sword in his hand.

"Remember me?" he asked. "Now step away from the idiots."

Han moved to attack but ducked again as the second threw a punch. He grabbed the second's wrist and broke the arm.

"Oh shit!" the second said before being kicked into the air. "Oh shit!" he shouted.

The first came in, swinging his sword across to try and get Han who easily dodged. He tried to slash across several times before trying a stab.

Hand grabbed his wrist as the stab went by, disarming the first and then kicking him away and into the other two.

"Bull sh-" the first shouted as he was sent stumbling off, getting cut off as his face hit the ground.

Han was quickly over to the three as they were still trying to recover. One was up and tried to stab him with a kunai, but failed as a sealing tag was placed on his arm.

The other two were picked up by their necks and then sealed.

Before he could continue on, Han was forced to dodge a stream of magma. As the smoke and smell of slag died down, Han looked around and was both stunned and saddened by the source. Roshi.

Roshi said nothing as he lunged forward to attack. Han dodged a punch to grab Roshi's wrist and flip him over, embedding him into the ground. It was then that he noticed something off. Roshi's eyes. The Rinnegan.

* * *

 _ **Kabuto**_ ran through the caves, constantly closing up passages with his Inorganic Reincarnation. Each time the passage was closed a Katon jutsu would reduce the block to slag, opening the way yet again for Orochimaru and Anko.

Orochimaru was tired of chasing Kabuto, choosing the next open area in the cave to block off the only other entrance.

"Tripple Rashomon!"

Two of the walls blocked the cave Kabuto was about to run into, the third blocking the way they had come.

Kabuto flipped and landed on the Rashomon in front of him. He opened his mouth wide and expelled a dragon of light with an orb in one claw.

Orochimaru and Anko stopped.

Orochimaru tossed Anko a pair of earplugs and a small hypodermic needle. "Put those in, keep your eyes closed, and use the needle to ignore the pain."

Anko did as she was told just before the jutsu went off. Blinding light and deafening noise went off, crippling vibrations pulsed through the air, each stopping her for a moment. Regardless of the tools given, Anko was unable to move for a moment as the pain dulled. She had her snakes relay signals to her due to the noise and light blocking her senses of sight and hearing and the pain blocking her sense of touch.

She regained her movement a moment too late as she moved to block Kabuto's chakra scalpel aimed for her neck.

Kabuto was shocked as a massive snake bit his arm and redirected it.

"How are you able to maintain all your senses in this?" Kabuto asked.

"I was the one who gave you the notes on that jutsu. Don't think I wasn't prepared to handle it." Orochimaru responded. He charged in, coughing up the Sword of Kusanagi as he went.

A blade of bone formed from Kabuto's palm, swung to the side to parry Orochimaur's blade. Anko, though her moves were slightly slower than usual, used several snakes to bind Kabuto for a moment.

"Dance Of The Larc!"

Bones shot out of Kabuto's body, shredding the snakes. He moved around and nearly tore into Anko before Orochimaru pushed her out of the way.

They retreated to dodge the strikes for a few moments before Orochimaru created a large barrier of mud. He turned to Anko.

"Do you still have that curse seal?" he asked.

"I was never able to activate the version two, but I told Naruto to let me keep it. Figured it would be useful for the war."

"Smart girl. The reason you never activated the version two was because I never got the chance to send actual nature energy into the seal. Come here."

Kabuto broke through the wall before a massive tail slammed him back through it. He got over his shock and looked up a moment to see the tail shake, rattling the keratin at the end.

* * *

 _ **The**_ sphere kept gyrating, allowing Haku to move between mirrors even faster. This was even more useful as his mother was easily destroying his mirrors and dodging his attacks. All at once, he escaped from the back of one mirror before having them all move in at blinding speeds to try and crush her.

Before she could recover, he formed an immense dragon of ice. As she burst from the ice, she looked up to see the dragon flying straight down to swallow her. It crashed into the ground as its jaws slammed shut. Within seconds, the entire structure exploded in a storm of crystals.

"I don't want this to be true, Haku, but you can't beat me," she said as she emerged from the crystals.

"Not without sacrifice," he responded while dodging her attacks.

He brought up several spires of ice before kicking one, sending most of it flying at her. She easily knocked it away before Haku rushed in.

Zabuza, who had finally managed to defeat the previous ninja swordsmen, landed nearby, ready to help Haku should he need it.

Haku launched his own crystals into his mothers, distorting her formation a moment. He used the opening to appear in front of her and place the palm of his hand on her forehead. Ice started spreading throughout her body before exploding outward, consuming them both.

Zabuza, realizing what was happening, tried to rush forward and stop it.

"No! Haku! What are you doing?!" Zabuza shouted.

Haku turned the slightest amount he could as the ice still shifted. He looked at Zabuza and smiled.

' _Thank you for everything, Zabuza. Good luck.'_ Haku thought to himself as he began to lose consciousness. Before losing consciousness entirely to the medium he had imprisoned them in, he activated the sealing array Naruto gave him and sealed them both. Sealed them both within a frozen prison.

Zabuza ran forward and tried cutting into the ice with his sword only to have no success. He slammed his blade into the ice, trying to break it with no success. He then threw the blade to the side and started pounding on the ice with his bare hands as tears started falling from his eyes.

"Haku! Why?!"

* * *

 _ **Han**_ stood in a small triangle with Utakata and Gaara, the five missing Jinchuuriki surrounding them. Utakata and Han had helped Gaara with his father when they had the chance, knowing they needed his help with what they were dealing with.

"How are we supposed to stop them?" Utakata asked.

"I'm not sure. We have to be systematic about this," Gaara said. I'll distract the others. You two seal B and we'll keep working on it."

"That sounds like it works, but I've got some questions. Are you going to be able to keep that up?" Han asked.

"Don't worry about me. Just get it done."

"And my other question. How do they have those eyes? Obito said that was part of the plan should they have trouble with some of the Jinchuuriki, but whose using them?"

"It doesn't matter right now. Let's get this over with," Utakata replied.

Han charged at B and slammed his shoulder into him.

Gaara formed several large arms of his metals and started using them to grab and throw the Jinchuuriki. He trapped them in Sand Coffins to stall for time.

Utakata fired a stream of acid at B.

Han was about to punch down into where Roshi's skull was when he heard an agonized scream.

He turned to see Gaara fighting back against someone he didn't recognize. He then realized that Gaara was fighting with a bloody stump where his leg had been torn off. He was using some of his metals to hold himself up, not daring to try using them to hold the wound shut, fearing he would get some in his bloodstream and poison himself.

As he was distracted, Han felt a stabbing pain in his ribs. Looking down, he saw that Roshi was getting back up and had a kunai in his side. He was about to try fighting his friend once again when he felt a deep gash open up along his back.

Before he lost consciousness, he heard only a few words.

"It's time we were reunited," a dark voice said from behind him. "Now all that is left is to make sure Naruto doesn't seal away Madara and to get the statue."

* * *

 _ **Naruto,**_ his shroud knocked down, raised the arms of his shroud to block Madara's sword as it came down, but was surprised when the blow never landed. He looked up to see Kichigai standing on the snout of the shroud, a six tailed form of the Kyuubi's chakra wrapped around him.

Kichigai strained to use his tails to keep the sword from crashing down.

" **Hey there. Mind lending me some more of the fur ball's chakra? What was left in this clone's body isn't much."**

Naruto smirked. "Never expected to be fighting alongside you."

The shroud brought one of its tails around and slammed it into Madara's Susanoo.

As Zetsu was forced back, Naruto's shroud connected with Kichigai. Within moments, as Kichigai's form grew larger, there stood the form of the Kyuubi with Kichigai's eyes in the place of its own.

As Kichigai moved to the side, Naruto's shroud stood up and drew its swords, ready to do battle against Zetsu.

"Ready Kichigai?" Naruto asked.

" **As I'll ever be."**

"Don't you two forget about us!" Kagari shouted as his Susanoo grew to massive proportions. He was now standing to the left of Naruto and Kichigai.

The ground exploded with trees as a large wooden form grew from vines and trees themselves. The form took shape into a large version of Kureo's wood armor, though with slight changes.

"Did you really think it was that easy to ditch us?" Kureo asked. "Not a chance."

Naruto smiled. "Glad you two were able to catch up. Now let's get going."

" **Four against one? I wonder how those odds will work out."** Zetsu said to himself.

Naruto charged in, bringing his sword in for a low blow. Zetsu braced for it, but was unprepared for the sword to dig into the ground and kick sand and dirt into the air, blocking his view for a moment.

Zetsu's Susanoo was brought to the ground as Kichigai's form impacted the front of it. Kichigai tried to claw away at the armor of the Susanoo before Zetsu used one of the four arms to lift him up slightly and then kick him away.

He moved out of the way as Kagari stabbed a sword into the ground where his head used to be. He then jumped into the air and landed on his feet and used one of his swords to parry a blow from Kureo's avatar.

Kagari slashed his sword, tearing up some of Zetsu's Susanoo, destabilizing it for a moment before Zetsu regained his senses.

Kichigai went to attack before Zetsu grabbed him and flipped him over. Kureo started wrapping the Susanoo in vast roots and vines. Zetsu spent a few moments trying to rip away the wood before raising his swords in an X to block Naruto's sword.

Kagari cut through Zetsu's Susanoo and grabbed what was left of the destabilized ethereal warrior and brought it to the ground.

Kichigai came back around and ripped open the jewel Zetsu was standing it, leaving him exposed for a moment as Naruto came down and exited his shroud, landing right next to Zetsu.

Zetsu tried to punch him but the hand was cut off. Before it could reform, Naruto went to stab into Zetsu's head.

Naruto's eyes widened as his blade was stopped, blocked by the blade of a man who was not his target.

"I recognize you," Naruto said. "You were with Ochiai."

There was a sigh. "That's right. I'm truly sorry about this, but I can't allow you to stop Zetsu. This plan, the Infinite Tsukuyomi, will reunite me with the woman I loved. And we shall be reunited. Soon!"

Naruto pushed forward with his blade, trying to gain the upper hand. "What are you talking about, Skull? If you actually think that jutsu will reunite you with someone then you're delusional!"

Skull chuckled darkly. "No, you young fool. I'm the only one who's correct."

Naruto felt his body moving backward before the pain registered. The pain of Skull's foot connecting with his chest and sending him flying into the air. His shroud formed around him, driving its blade down to where Black Zetsu and Skull were standing.

Zetsu dissolved his Susanoo and moved out of the way while Skull simply angled his body so that only the upper right portion of his torso was cut off.

Skull moved away from where the sword was, creating the opening needed for bone to construct before filling with vessels and being covered in muscle and skin. All of it happening in mere seconds. What was left of his shirt slipped away to reveal a pale and heavily scared body.

Naruto grabbed his head in agony as the ethereal blade started falling apart.

 _ **"Kit! You have to stop him!"**_ Kurama shouted within Naruto's mind. _**"I don't know what he did, but a portion of my chakra didn't just go away. It ceased to exist. I might have an idea about who he is, but you need to pray I'm wrong."**_

_"What do you mean?! What is he?"_

**_"Whatever he is, what he's done is going to leave you without me for a while. And you should know that even if I'm wrong, he's older than I am."_ **

Suddenly the shroud disappeared and Kurama went silent.

Naruto shifted his focus from Kurama's chakra and focused instead on his sage chakra to keep him in the air.

"All of the other jinchuriki are taken care of and in the cave. You will find Kinkaku and Ginkaku there as well," Skull told Zetsu.

 **"What about the statue? We still need it,"** Black Zetsu replied.

Skull tossed him a small jar with two eyes floating in them. "I already took care of things. I would have given you the statue itself if not for obvious reasons."

**"Good. Remove his seals from me and I'll get going."**

**"Bijudama barrage!"**

Kichigai fired off four of the unfocused spheres of chakra only for them to suddenly disperse into clouds of ash.

"It will take more than that to kill me. Or less depending on your view of things," Skull stated. He placed his hand on Zetsu's shoulder, producing a dark flash of light. "Now go, Zetsu. We have a jutsu to activate."

Black Zetsu disappeared just as Kagari, now in his smaller Susanoo, crashed into the spot he had been in moments ago.

"We need to get back to the battle," Naruto said, landing next to Kagari.

"I'm afraid I can't allow that to happen," Skull mumbled to himself before a pulse of energy passed over the area harmlessly. "I will not allow you to stop what must be done. I will not let you stop it."

Naruto looked at his arms and down at himself for a moment, not feeling any different. "What was that supposed to do?" He asked.

"You will find that you can no longer access larger amounts of chakra. I am, however, a fair player in any game. The rules are simple. The effects are temporary, you can still use the chakra to move as quickly as normal and for your sons to form weapons. But, you should know that if you try to flee, I will tighten the hold on your power. The only way you can leave is to succeed in killing me. In which case, you should know that there is only one way to kill me. Only one part of me that doesn't regrow. Ironically enough, discovering that weakness is the cause of all my sorrow." Skull finished before placing his forefinger in the center of his forehead, using his other hand to grip his sword. "Destroy this cause of so much suffering and you shall own victory. Now, have at thee."

* * *

 _ **Kabuto**_ leaped back, avoiding the rattling tail once again before it's source finally came out of the hole in the wall.

The lower body was entirely made like a serpent, the long, twenty-foot tail made up of red, blue, and black scales. The upper body showed some of the less drastic, but drastic nonetheless, changes in Anko's form. She still had her trench coat and other upper body clothing, though her arms and fingers had become longer and somewhat thinner, long and sharp nails protruding from the ends of her fingers. Other changes where that, while the ponytail remained normal, the rest of her hair had turned into snakes that stretched down past her shoulders. He neck had become longer, even stretching somewhat to give a hood shape. Her face had also elongated to give a more reptilian appearance.

Kabuto marveled at the sight. "So Orochimaru was right. Your affinity for snakes mixed with your Curse Seal gave you quite the form."

Anko hissed at him, her jaw stretching wide for arms to shoot out and grab her jaws. Suddenly her entire form grew pale and dry before the arms propelled an exact replica of her at Kabuto.

In his shock, he hardly escaped her closing maw, and even more narrowly her rattling tail.

"Quite impressive. If not for that rattle, your tail might have gotten me." Kabuto taunted.

"One of the many flaws Orochimaru was responsible for," Anko hissed. "But you know all about that, don't you?" she asked with a taunting smirk winding up her features.

"I am not a flaw! I am the perfection he couldn't achieve!"

Anko was surprised as Kabuto appeared above her, bringing his leg down toward her skull. The leg was then twisted with a series of sickening pops before Kabuto went flying through the air as Orochimaru countered.

"Don't underestimate him. He's more powerful than the two of us currently are and it will take cunning to defeat him," Orochimaru said to Anko.

"I know. I just wasn't expecting him to lash out so quickly or bluntly," she responded.

They then shared a look as a plan instantly fell together.

"I know," they each said.

Orochimaru moved in quickly and tried to punch Kabuto in the face.

The snake coming out of Kabuto's gut wrapped around Orochimaru's arm, flipping him over and into a wall where he exploded into a splatter of mud. He turned around just as a fist connected with his cheek, sending him towards a pillar, in which he was embedded. His body formed into a liquid, flowing to the ground where he reformed and stood back up.

"I had forgotten your prowess with mud jutsu, Lord Orochimaru. Even being able to give it a pulse to fool anyone looking for it." Kabuto said.

"You didn't forget, Kabuto. You were just a failure when it came to those jutsu. Unable to ever catch them," Orochimaru retorted.

"Those mud clones of yours could fool even your old teammates! Even the other Sannin and any Kage! I'm no failure!"

He charged toward his former teacher, going in low only to disappear and show up above Orochimaru. The Sannin had been blocking low, only for a downward kick to embed him into the ground.

With Orochimaru's body broken and trying to reform, Kabuto turned his attention to Anko.

"So you can kick really hard? Not impressed." Anko hissed.

"Not impressed? I am perfect! You'll die by my hand!" Kabuto shouted. His body suddenly liquefied and sank into the ground. "Inorganic Reincarnation!"

Pillars around the cave split and tried to crush Anko. She got close to the ground and started slithering between each pillar as it came down, digging her claws into the ground to help redirect her motions. She moved to dodge another only for Kabuto to materialize in front of her.

Kabuto's snake went in to bite her neck only for her to cough up another form of herself and keep moving, leaving only a husk for the snake to sink its fangs into. His surprise at her actions broke his concentration on the Inorganic Reincarnation, causing much of the living rock to break off and fall to the ground.

Anko grabbed the hide of her old body and moved quickly to use it before it was little more than paper, twisting the tail around the snake. She then pulled hard on the skin, sending Kabuto flying towards the cave wall. The snake turned to fluid and slipped from the skin wrapped around it, allowing Kabuto to reorient himself and land safely against the wall.

There was an explosion of stone, a flurry of white snakes wrapping around Kabuto, and suddenly the student was pinned to the wall by his teacher.

"You should still be regenerating!" Kabuto shouted. "How-"

"Am I already up again?" Orochimaru finished as he stepped from behind a pillar. "Anko, begin."

Anko chuckled. "With pleasure." Her jaw became slack, allowing a thin green mist to start flowing out and building up around the cave, intensifying in output with each passing second.

"I might never have given him credit before, but out of the three who can use it, Naruto is by far the most efficient. You were my own student yet he has surpassed you in the jutsu which you surpassed me in. I'm unimpressed once again."

Kabuto growled in anger. "I am perfection!"

Bones ripped through the snakes, spinning around and then forming a massive torrent that easily impaled Orochimaru and left him affixed to the ground.

As the bones released themselves from Kabuto's body, he brushed off some of the remaining snake entrails from his shoulder. He turned to Anko and breathed in deeply. "You thought that a simple toxin, as lethal, complex, and effective as your choice might be, would be of any use to you against me? I can breathe it deep within my lungs and see every component."

Anko's jaw hefted back into place with a crunch. "Show off your perfection and fall. Breathe in as deep as you please, it will be more effective. And clearly not as perfect as you like, considering you aren't shocked by my own special ingredient."

Kabuto looked at her strangely. "Special ingredient? What the hell?!"

Anko loved the shock on his face as she struck her upper fangs against her lower ones, sparking the air and igniting the toxin.

The blaze burned into the cave rapidly, burning at such high degrees that the bone impaling Orochimaru began to melt. Kabuto tried to close off most of his orifices but was unable to stop some of it from getting in and igniting a portion of his lungs. Even his Healing Wound Destruction was only able to stop a portion of the damage to the afflicted area.

Kaubto spit up a bit of blood. "You bitch! I'm going to kill you for that!"

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ brought his sword down, Skull merely dodging for the blade to hit the ground.

Skull easily danced around the weapons of the others, using his own sword to parry blows, though never able to land any of his own.

 _'This is going nowhere. I love the finesse of this blade, so must I really fall to my more brutal and direct style?'_ Skull thought to himself. _'So be it.'_

"Zetsu, my blade, if you will." Skull said, backing off from the others.

A white material bubbled up from Skulls back, forming an arm with a brutal looking ax-sword in hand. Skull traded swords with the hand before it disappeared.

"Am I to assume that you being covered in Zetsu spores is how you were able to get to this place form the main battlefield?" Naruto asked.

"It is," Skull answered. "But the time for talk is over."

Skull jumped into the air, moving towards Naruto. While midair, several red arrows of light flew into him, exploding on contact. Skull's body was sent flying into the ground, but as the smoke cleared he stood there unharmed.

Kagari lowered his arms, the ethereal bow fading. "That didn't do anything to him," he mumbled. "I know we need to go for his head, but how are we supposed to stop this guy?"

"Kagari! Watch out!" Kureo shouted, knocking Kagari out of his thoughts.

Skull flashed out of existence, destroying the ground with the speed of his reappearance next to Kagari with his sword raised and ready to kill.

The blade came down only for Kureo to block with a massive double-edged sword made from condensed wood. Kureo parried the blow to the side and spun, forcing Skull to block. The block only did so much, as the force behind Kureo's counter sent him flying backwards.

As Skull landed with a heavy thud, Kureo charged in, ducking under a downward swing from Skull's blade and stepping to the side as the ax-sword destroyed the ground. Skull ripped his sword free in a diagonal slash at Kureo who ducked again and tried to strike. Skull immediately redirected his force to parry Kureo's attack, breaking his arm in the process of the defense, though it healed almost instantly.

Their blades clashed again, and again, and again, and again. In one powerful downward slash, Skull forced Kureo back. Kureo did a double-take, noticing his sword was cracked and ready to give way.

"Someone take over while I form a new blade!" Kureo shouted, dodging a skull-crushing attack from Skull.

Naruto rushed in, blocking Skull's next attack and forcing him back. He tried to cut his sword through the side of Skull's head only for Skull to try grabbing the bade. His sword went through Skull's hand only for the entire limb to be cut off.

Skull, his arm already regrowing used the opportunity to try attacking again, going after Naruto as he started retreating. Naruto parried the blade and spun around, delivering a savage kick to Skulls jaw, hearing a crunch of bone but noticing no damage to the skull he wore.

Naruto backed off for a moment. "When you go for his head, put in as much force as you can. That skull he wares is reinforced somehow," he said before returning to the offensive.

Skull, his jaw already repaired, brought his sword down only for Naruto to back off at the last second. His sword was embedded into the ground, leaving Naruto a small opening.

Naruto brought his foot down, forcing the sword deeper into the earth. Standing on the blade, he brought his own sword in from the side, a clear shot to Skulls head.

Seeing the sword coming, Skull let go of his blade and bent over backward to avoid the danger. He flipped back, a leg extending to kick Naruto in the face or chest, only for it to be dodged. Naruto moved back as Skull twisted, placing a hand on the ground to support his kick from below.

Naruto blocked the kick with the flat of his sword, being forced back even more as Skull continued the assault, twisting and kicking with the intent of at least breaking something, if not dealing permanent damage.

A kick landed on Naruto's sword with the force to send him back several yards, leaving the opening for Skull to retrieve his sword. He ran forward, crushing the ground in his wake as he went after Naruto. An arrow stabbed into his shoulder and exploded, destroying the limb, but not slowing his assault.

Kichigai came in from the side, blocking the attack for Naruto, allowing him the chance to recuperate for a moment.

Skulls charge forced Kichigai back. He swung the blade at an upward angle. Kichigai , though he had blocked, was sent hurtling into the air. Skull flashed above him and landed a savage strike with his sword and sending Kichigai into the ground, creating a crater at the impact.

Skull appeared in the dust, hoping to finish Kichigai, only for the madness incarnate to have his opponent standing and blocking easily.

Kichigai smirked as his eyes seemed to glow. "Yes. I can feel it. I can feel it flowing even more powerful than before! My freedom! My insanity and power! Come on, Skull! Make me feel alive!"

With maniacal laughter, Kichigai abandoned his sword and grabbed Skull by the wrist. He pulled harshly, dislocating Skull's shoulder. He used the arm as leverage, swinging his body around kicking Skull in the neck, turning the foot so the sole of his shoe was pressing against where the jugular would be. He then forced the foot into the muscles of the neck and twisted, tearing apart the pieces of muscle, spine, and arteries.

"Yes! The blood! The beautiful blood!" Kichigai shouted.

Skull's spine was the first thing to rapidly stitch back together, his hand grabbed Kichigai's leg while he was still in the air. He brought him over his head in an arch the ended with Kichigai hitting the ground face first. He then hefted his sword and swung it, bringing it down toward's Kichigai's back.

Naruto crashed into him, spearing his sword between the immortal's ribs.

Skull shrugged it off and kicked Naruto away. The moment Naruto was out of range, Kureo's wooden flower structure wrapped around Skull.

"Take the shot, Kagari!" Kureo shouted.

Kagari reformed his bow and readied and set of four arrows along the string. He let them fly, each one splitting into dozens of arrows that stormed into the top of Kureo's weapon. As the flower was destroyed, they could see the arrows cover Skull's back. The moment each arrow hit its mark, they exploded in blue fire. The blast being so strong that everyone was forced to shield their eyes.

It was as everything was falling silent that the dust was blown away to show Skull standing there, as nonplussed as before.

"So this is the power of an immortal?" Kichigai asked, standing up.

Skull started mumbling to himself. "What raw power. It's amazing that he truly is her descendant."

"There's a slight sneer on your lips," a Zetsu said as it's head formed on Skull's shoulder. "That look really shouldn't be shown to others."

"Is that what it sounds like?"

"Indeed. Having fun, Skull?"

"Yes, I am. I feel as though I have been reunited with an old friend. How could I not be happy?"

"So this fight reminds you-"

"Reminds me of the day I nearly killed the Sage of Six Paths. Now all I can do is hope the miracle will be fulfilled and that the tree will take form this time. But first I must wait and see the result of this first clash. Now excuse me, but I have a battle to finish."

"Of course," the Zetsu said, fading away.

Skull didn't waste another moment before charging, this time at Kureo.

Kureo hefted his spinal weapon and lashed it at Skull who knocked it to the side with his sword and jumped over it, ready to kill. Kureo released the weapon, preferring to stick to the sword as he parried Skull's attacks and moved back. He jumped into the air to avoid a low strike and twisted midair in order to get him with his sword.

Skull blocked, allowing the full force of Kureo's attack to break the ground. He swung his sword down, flinging Kureo off to the side. He kept turning and in one motion used his sword to kick up dirt and large stones into Kureo's direction. It was as he came to a stop that he looked down and saw his chest cut open. He looked to the side to see Kagari's blade covered in blood.

Naruto then charged in, surprising Skull by shoving a burning log into the wound. Hearing the sizzling flesh made Skull realize their intent.

Skull grabbed Naruto by the shoulders and threw him to the side. He then looked down at his wound and saw that, while the burns were going away, he had a new scar. For the first time in centuries, he had obtained a new scar.

"You cauterized the wound to minimize regrowth. I applaud you, but something so simple is not enough." Skull said. As impressed as he was, he was also angry for having let them do something like this.

Skull charged in, Naruto being in front of him. Naruto answered the charge in kind, his own sword brought up for an attack. He stopped mid charge, shocking Naruto by bringing his sword down, sending a shock wave out towards his target.

Naruto jumped up, avoiding most of the force and landing on merely unstable ground. He continued running, reaching Skull in a second, and impaling him in the shoulder within another. He then strengthened the grip on his blade and pulled downward, cleaving Skull nearly in half.

Skull staggered back before a large arrow stabbed through his neck. The arrow exploded in blue flame, burning the very rock and leaving only a burning crater.

As the dust and fire settled, Naruto relaxed his muscles and simply stared at the air for a moment.

"Zetsu, do provide me with coverings if you would," Skull's voice said.

Naruto tensed and looked around for the source. And then he saw it. What was left of Skull's head was sprouting a new body, though clearly naked. Zetsu grew around him, covering his body as it formed. Within seconds, Skull was back.

Skull looked around and gripped his hands, realizing they were empty. "Zetsu, my-" He stopped as he realized a portion of the skull over his head was missing. The jaw was gone entirely and the left half of his exceedingly pale face was revealed, though there was a cloth over his mouth.

He growled and stared Naruto down with his visible green eye. "You! You would dare to desecrate what remains?! You...You filthy curs! I shall eradicate you for this transgression!"

Skull flashed out of existence momentarily, the ground cracking under the force of his reappearance as he kicked Kagari in the ribs, clearly having broken several of them. He disappeared again, but Naruto tracked him momentarily, appearing in front of him in time to stop a killing blow to Kichigai.

Naruto brought his sword down, only for Skull to grab it with his palms. He strained, trying to force his blade forward, Skull also straining to hold him back. Skull's hands were left empty as Naruto pulled his blade back and kicked Skull in the chest, sending him stumbling back.

Skull was about to resume his attack when there was suddenly a shock wave across the ground. The sky changed color slightly and the ground shook. He turned to look into the distance.

"Yes. Let the tree grow and an unending dream of peace awaken. So very soon." A tear fell from his revealed eye as his hand moved to brush across the skull he over his head.

"Not today!" Naruto shouted.

Skull turned, remembering the need to defend. He moved too late, feeling his eye split in half along Naruto's sword as the blade dug in. He moved back, trying to avoid it, but his mind became blank as he felt something within his skull scratch against the tip of something else.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that I'm reposting this I should mention that I wrote this before Boruto was really a thing outside the epilogue to Shippuden. Maybe the Boruto movie was out by the time I was done. Anyway, the point is that I've never tried to get into Boruto and don't have much interest in it so do not expect any of the extra lore from it to make an appearance in my writing since I am aware that it adds more to the lore of the Otsutsuki but don't know what that is. I figured I would make that known for anyone who follows Boruto and expects any of that, especially considering my own extended lore I tried to add back then.
> 
> Also, the next chapter is the last so any feedback you have would be really appreciated. I will be posting some alternate ending ideas I had way back when as well as an epilogue, but as far as the main story goes chapter 24 will be the last chapter. After that, I'll work on catching up all of my posting on here and Wattpad with what I have on FanFiction. Once that's done the rewrite will be getting a lot more of my attention so feedback will really help as I move forward with that.

_**Takizawa**_ opened his eyes, seeing the ceiling above him. It took a moment for him to squeeze his arm muscles and truly start waking up. As he clenched his hands together, he noticed a crack in one of the beams above him.

"I'll need to replace that," he said, straining to sit up for a moment.

Once in a seated position, he reached his arms upward, popping several bones in his back, arm, and neck. His arms then fell back by his side. He sighed.

"Another day, another page to turn," he mumbled as he uncovered himself and stood up.

He bent down and grabbed his toes, holding them for a full moment. He straightened and walked over to the door of his small shack.

There was nearly nothing in his little home. Nothing but a mat and blanket. Not even interior walls or a real floor. One of the exterior walls was made of wood, something Takizawa knew to be a giant root. Grass and roots made up the ground.

He pushed the covering that made his door aside and stepped into the sunlight. It took his green eyes a second to react and adjust to the rays of the sun.

The sound of insects greeted him, letting him relax in the relative silence of nature.

He looked to the root that made up a wall of his home and followed it. He lost track of it every once in a while among the other trees, but he would always go back to where he lost it and keep tracing its path. This was his morning ritual, and he wouldn't stop until he reached the end. And the end he found at the base of a single tree.

It amused him how winding the root was, only to end up at the tree not even twenty feet from the front of his tiny shelter. It was an immense tree, stretching what he knew to be just shy of four kilometers. Three and nine thousand three hundred seventy-one ten-thousandths kilometers was what he knew to be more exact.

A piece of the bark on that tree rippled, leaves across the thousands of branches rustled. A vine stretched down from the top of the tree, a bulb at the end. It moved to him and simply poked him in the forehead.

"Good morning. How was the night in my absence?" Takizawa asked.

A small pulse of energy went through the vine and into his head, prompting him to snicker.

"I'm glad that you enjoyed the night air, my friend. So, anything important happening out there?"

Another pulse.

"So a woman is walking in this direction? It has been a long time since we had a visitor. I wonder what her intentions are. Do you think they are pleasant?"

A pulse.

"She might look pleasant, but that wasn't what I meant," he said with a smile. "I meant her intentions."

Pulse.

"Perhaps. I shall do my duty if she is hostile, I shall watch her go if she simply passes by, and I shall be a proper and polite host should she stop. However, there is that other detail. I'll handle it when the problem arises, for now...it has been oh so long since I wielded a sword. Would you grace me with a new one to replace my old one? I shall put a fire on for coffee and tea."

The vines moved away as Takizawa went to gather wood and his own supply of materials for making drinks and meals over a fire. Vines gathered around the first, forming a thin hand.

The hand of vines dipped into the soil and grabbed a small handful of it. The hand closed around the soil and glowed for several minutes. As it did this, another vine dug into the ground and burrowed deep.

Takizawa returned after nearly twenty minutes and built a small fire. Once it was done, the vines held something out to him. The vine that had burrowed into the earth held out a uniquely engraved silver blade. The thin and spindly hand held a pure and black gem. A thin vine twisted and grew around the blade and jewel to form a handle that became thin and smooth before the vines became unconnected.

Takizawa took the sword from the gentle vines and swung the blade through the air a few times.

"It is as light and beautiful as it is elegant and graceful. It has much...finesse. The times I have had to improvise with brute force makes me slightly unaccustomed to the grace, but I shall make true use of it all the same."

He sat down and placed the sword beside him before taking the wood and organized it within a circle of stones. Once lit, he set up a metal hook from which he hung a pot filled with water.

"Would you like tea or coffee?"

The hand rearranged a few things in a line for him.

"Blueberry tea it is. I shall have it ready momentarily."

It was another half hour before the water had boiled, the tea was steeped, and the proper amount of sugar and honey had been added. Takizawa held the cup out, letting the vines take the cup and wrap around it. They dipped themselves into the cup and rippled.

"I'm glad you enjoy it," he chuckled out. "However, I believe our guest is here."

The vines rippled, absorbed the tea rapidly, lowered the cup, and then rose to disappear among the branches.

Takizawa waited a few seconds before seeing a young woman appear from behind a tree. She wore a dark cloak that hid much of her features as she got closer. Once she stood next to him, she stopped.

"Would it be alright if I join you?" She asked in a soft voice.

"Of course," he said, gesturing to the ground across the fire from him.

She sat down with her legs crossed and undid her cloak. Taking it off revealed a young woman in her late teens with a slender physique and soft, white skin, and very delicate facial features that showed naivety yet knowing, and elegance. Her hair was finally textured, nearly golden, and obviously very long, held in a large bundle at the back of her head. She reached behind her and let her hair loose. It was as long as Takizawa guessed, sweeping behind her and pooling on the ground. The last thing of note was her thinly cut eyebrows.

She herself took note of him. Green eyes, dark and wavy hair to his broad shoulders, and, from what she could tell, he would be a notable amount taller than her.

"Welcome to my very humble abode," Takizawa said. "Would you like tea or coffee?"

She looked at him a moment. "Coffee please."

"Of course." He moved to make her drink. "So what brings a princess way out here?"

She gave him a questioning glance.

"The eyebrows."

Her cheeks turned slightly red. "Of course. Spend as much time alone as I do and you often forget some things. I'm traveling to a neighboring country. I'm acting as a diplomat of sorts. I'm sure you are familiar with the wars. I'm being sent to...secure a peace treaty to strengthen our position in the war. Though I personally wish the whole damn thing was over."

She covered her mouth slightly.

Realizing why, Takizawa laughed. "You need not watch your language in my presence."

"To be honest, I was not concerned with your opinion. I was concerned about where we are."

"Because we are on sacred ground? Do not worry. She doesn't care a single iota about your wars, and even less so about your choice of words."

"Oh, I was just-"

"No, it's fine. Do not worry."

There was a pause. "Thank you. So, what about you? Why are you all the way out here? Living here, at the trunk of the tree no less? I mean, you do know what this is, don't you?" she asked. "I was scared to speak wrong here, but you even refer to the great tree as a 'she'."

"Of course I know. The great Shinju, barer of the legendary forbidden fruit that blooms once every millennium. But you did ask another question. It is a simple enough question, but with no simple answer. It is true, we sit in the shadow of the Shinju, but I am not worried. Many years ago I laid dying on her roots. Watching me merely ask that my goodbye be delivered, rather than beg to her that she save my life, touched something in her. She spared me, allowing me to send my final goodbye to my mother. It came with no small price, yet one I was more than happy to pay. So I sit here and watch. I do what she is little prepared to do herself. I scare off what the superstition, as correct as some might be, will not."

"That is quite something. I have never heard of such an event."

"That's because the only one for her to ever do that for has never left and is sitting across from you," Takizawa said, passing her a now ready cup of coffee. He then moved a piece of metal over the fire and began preparing himself a meal, the woman saying she had eaten recently. "All others to have died near her roots have not been so accepting of death as I was. They begged for their lives for their own sake. I begged for the sake of someone else's peace. For that, she opened her very roots and saved my life."

"Right. Well, with it's bloom coming soon, I can imagine that you might be excited," she said. She then took a sip of the drink and gave a very pleased expression.

"And why would you say that?"

"Well, no one alive has ever seen the bloom for reasons you of all people should know. And even then, few have seen it at all in history. Old texts say it is an impressive and wondrous event to see."

He chuckled. "Oh, I understand now. Some times I myself forget. Tell me, how old would you wager me to be?"

She stared a moment and thought hard. "Around my age, if not, then a little older. I myself was born almost twenty years ago, so I hope that gives you some idea of my judgment."

His chuckling turned to outright laughter that took nearly a full minute to stop. "I had, in fact, guessed you were in your late teens, and you made a good guess. Before the Shinju saved me, it was the day after I became twenty years old. But since that day...Since that day, I have seen the bloom three times. This upcoming one shall make four."

Her shock dropped her jaw. "You have survived that long? How?"

He gestured to the massive tree and gave her a look.

She blushed again. "Oh. I guess that should have been obvious. So...I've heard of you before. Two millennium ago a man brought armies to this place, coming to claim the fruit. The few who survived that day in history claimed that the Shinju released a demon from it's roots, like war and death incarnated into a being that slaughtered the army. It was the first time anyone tried something like that due to the superstition, and it's why so few ever even come to this place anymore." She paused, thinking of a way to change the subject.

Noticing her attempt and nervousness, he helped her out with a smile. "How about, for the moment, we exchange names. I have not yet had the pleasure of knowing yours."

"Of course. My name is Kaguya. Kaguya Hojo." She said, eager and grateful for the turn of conversation.

Takizawa smiled. "Well met, Kaguya. My name is Takizawa." He paused briefly as if trying to remember something. "It's been so long, it took me a moment to actually remember my full name. My name is Takizawa Ootsutsuki."

* * *

_**Takizawa**_ placed the cups and pot in a small basin of water as Kaguya stood up, nearly ready to continue on her journey now that she was somewhat rested.

Kaguya looked up to the sky, realizing that while they had been conversing, nearly an hour had passed. Surprised as she was, she waited for Takizawa to turn towards her again and then gave a slight bow. "I must thank you for the drink and conversation. It was a wonderful rest compared to the few days I've been walking."

"I'm assuming you are often walking that long, considering you don't have a pack with anything to help you rest." Takizawa commented on her lack of provisions.

"On trips across a desert, I would take food and water. But considering this trip being through plenty of forests and towns, it's easy enough to get those things. As for sleep, me and my siblings have been trained from a young age to forego sleep for days or even weeks. It's not exactly pleasant, and the rest is always welcome, but it allows for things to be done faster."

"I suppose. But you seem to be particularly worn out. You say you have been traveling for some time. I offer you the chance to sleep here under my watch. I have an extra sleeping mat and blanket. You may rest here."

"I should be going, but thank you," Kaguya said, though her eyes were obviously heavy.

"Trained though you may be, you said yourself that rest is always welcome and you are obviously tired. All due respect to your station and abilities, I would insist you not turn down my hospitality," Takizawa said with a soft yet firm tone.

She gave him a look and was about to protest but decided against it. _'I might not like his tone, but his hospitality has been a nice change of pace and his argument holds merit.'_

"Fine. I'll take you up on that offer." Kaguya said.

* * *

_**Takizawa**_ stood on the end of a vine, the night shining around him and alive with nightlife. He looked down at his small hut, knowing his guest was still asleep inside.

There was a pulse through the vine.

 ** _'You don't have extra blankets or sleeping mats.,_** the pulse reminded.

"No, I don't. But if I had told her I was giving up my only ones, she would have refused. Not only did I need her to stay so I could see about these ones, she's rather cute when she's sleeping."

The vine shook and sent multiple pulses.

Takizawa was nonplused by the shaking. "Laugh all you please. I was stating a simple fact. And don't mock me, old friend. It's been a long time since I made the acquaintance of another human being." He then paused to let out a sigh.

Pulses went off through the vine.

"Now, don't let your dirty mind run away with you. Such teasing, I have to wonder if perhaps you have an ulterior motive for such thoughts. Is the great Shinju jealous of my affection?" Takizawa said in a teasing tone.

The vine writhed and nearly threw him off.

"You started it, old friend," he said, struggling to maintain balance and snickering at the tree's reaction.

There was a final pulse as the vine fell still.

"Oh. So then, it's time once again to don the visage of the monster of the roots." He pulled his new sword off his back. "If you would, old friend?"

The vine he was standing on branched out began twisting around him. Bark formed over his chest in the appearance of a thick rib cage and around legs, thin roots wrapping around his joints to allow continued movement but some protection. Vines formed thick layers around his limbs but left his joints alone to provide flexible but more than adequate protection.

More bark formed along his back in the same pattern as his chest, jagged pieces of the wood forming a spinal column that moved up to the base of the neck and down to the pelvic region. As each section formed, they turned black and deathly. Finally, vines and roots formed together to complete the deathly appearance of a skull over his head with hollow and darkened eye sockets. Small buds formed, blooming into small blood red roses in place of the eyes.

"Now shall the servant of the Shinju bring death to those who threaten the peace of this ground," Takizawa said before the vine dropped him.

He landed on a large root, the bark rippling around him as he sank within. His form moved through the tree, moving through the forest and finding those he sought. And then he found them. Seven of them, hiding near his home.

"So what about that guy who she's been talking to? Any of you know where he is?" one the men asked in a gruff voice.

"He disappeared about an hour ago, but he was keeping watch before that, so we really don't know," another said.

"What is up with this guy? He lives at the base of the great tree and then tells the princes of the Hojo clan to sleep in his home?" the first asked.

"I don't know. You think this guy could be...You think he could actually be the demon of the Shinju? The monster it spat out in legend to defend its fruit?" a third asked in a wheezing voice.

"Impossible," a hulking man responded. "It's a legend and nothing more."

"Yeah, maybe so," the first interrupted. "But either way he's an obstacle in the way of our target."

"That's something I wanted to talk with you about, boss," a woman spoke up. "Are we sure we want to get involved with this? If it's ever traced back to us killing Kaguya, we are dead."

"I know that Sakuya, but we don't have a choice. If she marries and connects our clans through blood, our clan will be overtaken by those dogs. If she is withdrawn, we will not have their support in the war. But if she is killed, we can twist the tragedy to keep our clans separated and still gain their support."

"I have heard your reasoning and found your reasoning unsatisfactory," Takizawa said through the roots, his voice echoing. "From my observation, you would betray your word for your clan. Nobel as such an intention may be, I shall not allow you to kill this woman. She is a guest of this forest, but from your words, you intended to kill her here. You shall turn back and return to your home, or I shall kill you."

"Come out! Don't be a coward!" the leader shouted.

A nearby root opened in a flurry of vines allowing Takizawa to step forth. "You dare insult the validity of my character? Such insolence, it is only by the wishes of my mistress that I don't stain the ground with your blood outright."

"Tell me who you are," the leader said, stepping forward.

"I am the one you would most notably know by the title of Demon of the Shinju. You know, the one who destroyed an entire army," Takizawa said.

"That's a myth, nothing more," the hulking brute said, a heavy mace over his shoulder.

Takizawa waved his hand and roots sprouted from the dirt, ripping the ground open. The roots wrapped around the mans legs as he started to panic, hands raised ready to use the mace on the roots.

Suddenly his arms were cut off.

Though Takizawa had not seemed to move, his blade was now dripping blood. "Am I still a myth to you now?" he asked. "I shall give you all one last chance, take your broken friend and return home. If you do not, I will end your pathetic lives."

* * *

_**Kaguya**_ stepped through the door, pushing her wild hair out of the way of her eye. Her eyes showed she was still tired and her hair was knotted, tangled, and all over the place.

As she wiped the sleep from her eyes she was greeted with a sight she didn't at first understand.

"I suggest you wake yourself up, my friend. We have a guest," Takizawa said, pushing the leader of last night's group into the dirt at Kaguya's feet.

Kaguya took a moment to register what was happening as she looked down at the man. "Zetsu?" she asked.

"So I take it you know this man?" Takizawa asked.

"Y-yes. He...He's my brother. Zetsu Hojo."

Takizawa pulled his sword off his back and held it out to her. "Then his life is in your hands. He and a group of people were here to kill you. From what I beat out of them, they had been following you in the hopes that once you crossed certain borders they could kill you."

"You were always against my marriage into the other clan, but you knew I had no choice. Yet you would go this far? Why, brother?" Kaguya asked.

Zetsu looked up at her, heavily beaten. He spat at her feet, blood among the spit. "Because you didn't even resist. You wouldn't even try to resist the marriage into that clan of animals. Beasts! I had to make sure the alliance would be secure without our blood mixing with them. I love you dear sister, but you must understand."

Kaguya looked over at Takizawa and then to Zetsu with loving eyes. "I do, my brother. I do. But you must also understand that I didn't object because I must save our clan. I must protect the people I care for," she said before taking the sword from Takizawa. She raised it into the air, her hand shaking as she did. And then she brought it down.

Zetsu looked at the ground where the sword was buried in the ground and then looked back up to Kaguya, tears streaming from her eyes. "Why?"

"You will leave this place. I can assume as to who it is that tried to help you with this. Take their bodies and bury them where they will never be found. And then, you leave. You do not return to the clan. You never return to this place. Your life belongs to me and I'm releasing it. Never let me see you again."

She then helped her brother stand and stood there to watch as he left. And the moment he was out of sight, she collapsed and broke down. It was only several minutes after her crying began that she realized she was crying into a shoulder. Takizawa had caught her when she collapsed, and she was grateful for that.

"Thank you," Kaguya said as her crying ebbed. "Murder within the clans isn't uncommon. Siblings, even parents against their children, but I never expected my brother to do so. But I understand his reasons. And now...now I've banished him from the clan. He is no longer a Hojo. That was the hardest thing I have ever done," she sobbed.

Takizawa simply let her cry and patted her back. "It might have been easier to kill him, but you have reaffirmed my thoughts about your character. It is often harder to lay down your blade than to strike with it."

"I know, but it hurts, no matter what choice is made."

"Yes, so for now, think about what you gain from such a price."

Kaguya finally sat back and looked at him. "I'm sorry this all fell onto your lap. Politics of the warring clans to collide right into you."

"Think nothing of it. My guest is safe, and I am therefore happy."

She thanked him and stood up. "Sometimes, I truly wish this whole damn war was over."

* * *

_**'Why do I feel a gap in you?'**_ the tree asked within his mind.

"Because I feel a gap myself," Takizawa said, watching the dot that was Kaguya far in the distance. "She is an interesting person and it has been so long since I have felt that. She wants the war to be over, and for some reason, her sadness touches my heart. This world has been plagued by wars since before I came to this place. Something about her pain has sparked my interest in the world outside these woods."

_**'You wish to rejoin the world?'** _

"I wish to help her. She says she is doing this of her own choice to protect her family, but the pain in her eyes is the spark the ignites my own burning pain from those days. It's not so much that I want to rejoin the world, but that I want to see it saved. I can't truly explain why, other than that she has awakened something within me."

He paused in thought for several minutes. "My oldest friend, you who I have protected for so long, I must ask a question. If I were to ask that you release me from my bond and allow me to give Kaguya the fruit that will sprout in two years time, what would be your reply?"

_**'I will answer your question with a question or two of my own. What makes you think she could even handle the fruit?'** _

"I...I sense her heart to be pure. Her desire to end the wars is fascinating. But you are wondering if her mind could handle it. If it would begin to threaten her sanity, I would be her anchor to reality."

_**'And what if I told you that giving her the fruit would only bring you misery?'** _

"I'm not sure. I know I have only known her for all of a few hours, but she has somehow won over my heart. I have endured worse than misery throughout my life. I could survive it."

_**'I fear even this misery would overwhelm you. But if that is what you choose, I will not stop you, my friend. Go to her, and keep her close. But return in two years on the day of the blossoming. On that day, I shall judge your resolve and her own heart. Then I shall decide. But I must ask another question. Why not take the fruit yourself?'** _

"Because I learned long ago, on the day of my death, that I don't have that strength of will necessary to even touch the fruit."

* * *

_**The**_ eyes opened and looked at him with beauty as his dreams became a reality. They then blinked before turning blood red with a rippling effect and several tome spinning in circles. the face he looked at was so beautiful yet it suddenly caught fire and melted, leaving only the hollow skeleton. Through the eye sockets he saw glassy eyes. He sank into the sockets and found his own face resting beneath the dead and chard bone, looking back at him with hollow green eyes devoid of emotion. They sprouted sadness and then hatred before becoming grim and dead.

The face that became his own then twisted and contorted until he was looking at the small pod he knew so well. That pod swelled and grew before splitting open to reveal a fruit. From that fruit stretched a face that morphed into his own once again. It screamed in pain before igniting into flames, burning until all that remained was a skeleton, clean and stainless. The fire then formed a hand and took the skull and held it out to him.

_**"I warned you of the hatred and pain. Know forever that your noble heart and wondrous intentions will forever have my love and admiration. And one day, once your suffering is over, you will return to my roots!"** _

Takizawa opened his eyes, the memories of the disturbing dream he had just witnessed already fading as dreams tended to do. And his eyes moved, looking around before looking straight up into the eyes he had spent three years coming to say he loved. Long after their marriage, he still loved those eyes. Kaguya's eyes. And now that the wars had finally ended, the world coming together under her guiding hand, he could finally look into them every morning.

"Good morning, my prince of the world," she said, looking into his still dreary eyes. "I have wondrous news for you, my darling."

He smiled. a hand moved to her cheek before moving to the horns sticking out of her hair. He had to say they were rather cute in his mind. "With all that has happened, my Rabbit Goddess Kaguya Ootsutsuki, any wondrous news is mere icing on the cake."

She grabbed his hand and moved it downward, all the way to her belly where she placed the flat of his hand. It took Takizawa a moment to realize the significance of this. He looked up into her eyes as they streamed tears of joy.

She smiled in glee. "Takizawa. You're going to be a fa-"

Her words and happiness were forever cut off as fire exploded around them.

* * *

_**Kaguya**_ stood there, still not changed out of her hardly there burned robe. Though she had suffered serious burns in the explosion, the fact she had survived it allowed those burns to heal at a rapid pace. It had been several hours since the explosion and she stood in the rain, oblivious to most everything around her. And then an object was brought before her.

"My lady, we were able to apprehend the man who planted the explosives," a guard said, shoving Zetsu to his knees before her.

That object, her brother, became the object of her sadness. "You. Why would you do this?"

Her brother sneered. "We each tried to help our clan once. You may have banished me from it, but I have not forgotten. You then left your duty behind for that man who protected the Shinju. You betrayed your clan for power! The first clan you brought to heal before you was the Hojo clan! Your own family!"

"Because I had to show that I would not favor them as I ended the wars! I had to separate myself from them! But you...you killed him! You killed Takizawa! My husband!"

"If it's any consolation princess, I meant to kill you both."

The back of Kaguya's hand then made contact with Zetsu's face with blinding speed. His cheek split open with the very force behind it.

"Take this man away. Torcher him brutally, but the man who kills him will face my wrath. I shall call for him when I'm ready."

As Zetsu was taken away, another guard, one of the few who had been Kaguya's friend before she ended the wars, walked up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Takizawa's body has not been found. There is still a chance that-"

Kaguya waved a hand, cutting her off. "The heat...I felt the flames and I know that no mere human being could have survived that. I barely did. He's gone. He's gone. Just leave me alone."

And within a minute, she had her wish. She was alone. She chose that moment to shout to the sky in agony, both mentally, and physically. Her hatred and sadness and grief finally came to a spearhead as she yelled. Her horns grew sharper and more prominent. And then a thin line split her forehead.

 _'A dream! A dream! All I want is a dream where I have him back!'_ she screamed in her mind.

The split in her face stretched, a simple white mass forming in the hole, causing immense pain. And then that mass turned into a sphere that quickly stained red with a rippling effect. Black marks burned into the newly formed eye along the ripples until there were three on each line.

The screaming suddenly subsided as she collapsed. She looked down at the ground where a puddle was forming in the rain. And what she could see of that reflection terrified her as the veins surrounding her eyes bulged from her face.

* * *

_**Kaguya**_ sat on a throne and waved a hand, having her brother brought before her. His face was hideously deformed from the torture and his body was covered in flays and burns. He shuddered and screamed at the pain of being thrown to the hard stone floor.

"Kill me already," Zetsu groaned, finally tired of the pain.

"Oh, I will," Kaguya said with a smirk. "But only in the most agonizing way possible."

She held a hand out to him and his skin began to smoke. What was left of his fingernails tried clawing at his neck and skin as the pain quickly burned into him. His skin started to burn as his flesh began to rend itself from his body, falling to the floor and quickly becoming a black mass. It was not long until that was all that remained. A black liquid puddle.

Satisfied with her work, Kaguya bit into a fruit and looked at the large yellow seed inside. She plucked the pit from its prison and then tossed it into the black mass. Though her brother was dead and his actual mind was gone, she could make use of him. She held out her hand again, focusing intently on what she was now doing.

"Rise Zetsu. It's time for you to serve a purpose." She said as the mass began to take form, the yellow pit melting, splitting, and forming two perfect circles.

Soon, a black creature with two yellow eyes was standing before her. **"What purpose would you have me serve, mother?"**

* * *

_**The**_ years passed and Kaguya was eventually sealed by her sons, each taking a new task in life with their mother defeated. More years passed and eventually, Hagoromo Ootsutsuki came closer to death, though some felt he was not close enough.

Skull passed between two trees and moved closer. He lifted his blade, ready to strike when the Sage's voice called out.

"It's not polite to slink in the shadows," Hagoromo said.

Skull stepped out from his hiding place and stepped forward till he stood in front of the Sage. "You have something I need," his dark synthetic voice said.

"And what would that be?"

"The Juubi. I need it."

"What use could you possibly have for such a creature?" Hagoromo asked, opening his eyes to look up at skull from his seated position.

"I lost someone not very long ago," Skull said, rubbing his hand along the skull over his head. "I want to be reunited with her."

"What makes you think that such a creature could reunite the two of you?"

"A friend of mine, named Zetsu, knows of its abilities. The Infinite Tsukuyomi. It will be able to reunite me with the woman I love."

"If you think such a jutsu will bring someone back to life for you, you are sorely mistaken."

Skull lifted his blade again. "We shall see, old man."

Skull rushed in, his blade whistling through the air towards Hagoromo's head.

Hagoromo was up in an instant, flipping back through the air.

"Pretty spry for an old man!" Skull shouted as he went after the Sage. A black sphere went flying at him, but he simply wrapped his hand around the Truth-Seeking Ball and shattered the sphere, much to Hagoromo's surprise.

Rather than freaking out, the Sage moved a sphere to his hand that quickly took the form of a double-helix shaped sword.

"The Sword of Nunoboko," Skull muttered with a grin. "Finally some fun."

* * *

**_"Too_ many are still alive."** Zetsu said. **"There is no way we can properly shape events with so many of both clans still alive. It's bad enough that those 'Uzumaki' split off so long ago, but we need to contain what we can."**

"I know, Zetsu," Skull said, his arms folded as he watched Madara and Hashirama shake hands before the gates of the village they had built. "What do you suggest?"

**"Not everyone was happy about all the destruction caused by the wars. Play on their guilt."**

"I think I know what you mean. With the so called 'badlands' out to the west, I should be able to convince some of these sentimental fools to return in an attempt to right their sins. I'll see what I can do. What will you be doing in the meantime?"

**"I'm going to work on Madara. He can't run around outside our influence or we'll start losing ground."**

* * *

_**Sasuke**_ continued walking as he had for the past couple of days after his exile, knowing the moment he had arrived exactly why these were the badlands of the world. He was used to a lack of sleep, but even this was pushing it as his Susanoo redirected yet another bolt of lightning. The sandstorm was brutal, grains of dust and sand slipping through even his ethereal protection. He shielded his eyes as another gust blew sand into his face. It was becoming hard to breathe, even with the wet cloths over his mouth and nose.

His eyes became heavier, his body urging him to give in to sleep. His chakra felt no strain so far, which he was grateful for, but even so, his eyes hurt from the continued activation of his Susanoo.

Another strike of lightning hit the ground blinding and deafening him for several moments. He opened his eyes to find himself laying on the ground. His back and head hurt and he was finding the ground oddly comfortable. He wondered if his Susanoo would stay active if he slept now, knowing he would probably die if it didn't.

Unable to find the will to truly care, his eyes closed, and darkness closed in on him.

* * *

_**Sasuke**_ opened his eyes, not seeing the red clouds and lightning of the sky, but instead seeing a strange ceiling. It was jagged and clearly made of some sort of stone.

"You are awake, good," a voice said.

He turned over and saw a man kneeling next to him, wringing out a cloth into a bowl of water. The man moved over with the cloth.

"Relax. You are safe for now. Safe in the ruins of your ancestors," he said, dabbing the cloth on Sasuke's forehead. "The dust is your lungs almost killed you, as did the heat and other elements."

"Who are you? Where are we." Sasuke asked.

"As I said, in the ruins," the man said before placing the cloth back into the bowl and then lifting a cup up to Sasuke. He helped him sit up and drink from the cup.

"Thank you," Sasuke said as he laid back down.

"Now then, as for who I am." He turned back to Sasuke and let his eyes transform into a twisted Sharingan. "I am the leader of the Uchiha. The ones that remain out here anyways."

"But, how have the Uchiha survived out here?"

"All in good time. For now, you should be awake enough to at least stand," the man said as he stood up and offered Sasuke a hand.

Sasuke took the hand and slowly stood up, ready to know what was going on. Once on his feet he looked around and noticed that the whole room was made of the same stone as the ceiling above.

The man led Sasuke out of the room showing that they were in the middle of a large cave system. In the center were several trees surrounded with various crops. There were several people walking around and many more working at various tasks.

"Life has been difficult out here in the badlands., but we have been able to eke out a living here," the man said.

"Why?" Sasuke asked. "Why not leave the badlands and go to the elemental Nations?"

"And participate in your wars? No. Long ago our ancestors decided that we should stay and correct the mistake we made, rather than assist any with mistakes not our own. Some did not share that sentiment, feeling that the badlands should be left as the badlands, that our mistakes were easy enough to discard."

"But these aren't your mistakes."

"Nor was the feud between the original Uchiha and Senju. Yet their decedents fought all the same. Now as the ones at the end of the war decided to stay and fix their mistakes, now so do their descendant's all the same. But now it might not matter. With everything going on back in the world, we might all be experiencing our last few days."

"You mean with Zetsu and the Juubi?"

The man nodded. "I've spent generations trying to fix this mistake, and I might not even be able to finish in that endeavor."

"How do you know about some of this stuff? I mean, you even knew my name when I first woke up," Sasuke asked.

"Just because we live way out here doesn't mean we don't sometimes put our feelers out now and again to see what's going on. Especially in recent years."

"I see. Another thing that's been bothering me, what did you mean by generations?" Sasuke asked.

"You remember those immortals?"

"I somewhat remember them being mentioned by Naruto, but not really."

"Well, they aren't really rare. At least a few show up every couple decades. I myself was there when the first Uzumaki founded Uzushio. A few of us here are immortal."

"Naruto said something about immortals having varying degrees of blood-lust to make up for the absence of their own death."

"That is true, but out here, the few of us there are learned to keep it in check. There is no way that we could fulfill our duty alone. Our honor and duty have helped us maintain focus."

"So, what about now? Certainly, you could help back in the world to save it from Zetsu."

"I'm afraid we wouldn't make much difference. We didn't in the last wars our people took part in. We won't now. But, you might if you were to return from exile."

"Return from my exile?"

The man waved his hand for Sasuke to fallow him as he moved down a cave split off. "That's right. If you return, your power could help turn the tide. While our own power has somewhat shriveled in these past generations, your power has only grown. Compared to Madara, you are still relatively small, but by no means of the imagination does that mean you can't make a difference in this coming battle."

"That's true, but I've been exiled. Nartuo's power has far surpassed my own and if he wanted he could easily crush me, even in the midst of a war. He exiled me knowing I would die out here. If I were to return-"

"He would accept your return if for no other reason than to use you like a lamb to the slaughter to distract his enemies. I know enough of him that he will not attack you. He realizes that you are more valuable to him alive in this situation and will exploit you to the fullest."

"And what do you think would happen if I survived to the end of the war?"

"If you survived? He wouldn't bother letting you return to exile. At the end of the war, then he would kill you."

* * *

_**Obito**_ kept fighting, burning through each enemy he could, and even sending some of them into Kamui or the bottom of the ocean. Things were going well and they were starting to gain some ground before a dark figure suddenly appeared. That figure ran up before he could react and reached forward. There was suddenly a burning pain where his eyes were supposed to be.

* * *

_**Akira's**_ black armor surrounded him, giving off an ominous red glow through the seems in the plating. His sword, as black an ominous as his armor moved with fluid ease through each and every enemy, Zetsu or otherwise.

As his arms were extended, a reanimated zombie tried to bring a war hammer down on his head. He lowered his body and felt the footsteps along his back as Angela ran up from behind and beheaded the zombie. After placing a sealing tag, she turned to her old friend, throwing a kunai over his shoulder into the eye of a Zetsu.

They then moved back to back in order to protect against several reanimated shinobi that attacked all at once. Akira braced and blocked the sword of an enemy before kicking them into the air and cutting them in half. However, another came at him before he could place a sealing tag. Angela was having the same problem as each enemy she cleaved into kept coming back every time she couldn't seal them.

"Where is Mikasa?!" Akira shouted.

"I lost track of her!" Angela said. "But she could be of some real help right now!"

Another went in to attack them before it was shredded, ripped apart along with each of the others. A chain whipped around as Meizu and Gozu landed next to them.

"You didn't forget about us, did you?" Meizu asked.

"Not a chance of that," Akira said. "Thanks for the help."

"No problem," Gozu replied. "Just don't die on us now, fearless leader. Now we need to hurry up and seal them."

"Agreed."

Akira and Angela started sealing the regenerating enemies, Meizu and Gozu working on taking out any encroaching Zetsu.

Gozu ran forward, dodging between targets as his brother weaved in opposite directions, each working to entangle as many as possible within their quickly depleting length of chain. Having calculated the length, they landed next to each other just as their chain ran out.

Meizu turned to his brother. "Now?"

"Now!" Gozu shouted.

They twisted around using the mechanisms within their gauntlets to rapidly retract their chain and shred those wrapped inside it. Each Zetsu torn in half tried to cling to what life it had, though each fell silent. The zombies were another matter as several regenerated, even more, unscathed and ready, quickly went on the offensive.

"Where the hell is Mikasa?!" Gozu asked to no one in particular.

"Right here!"

Akira landed in front of the brothers, his armor spreading out just as a wave of white flames engulfed the area with a roar. Akira's armor held out as each of the surrounding opponents were incinerated.

The moment the fire ebbed, Akira's armor retracted and revealed Mikasa standing on the back of a massive black dragon.

"You mind not trying to kill my friends, sister?" Akira said.

Mikasa rested a hand on her hip. "I knew you would keep them from being killed. Besides, I just saved your neck. Try to be grateful Akira," she said with a smirk.

"On your left!" Akira shouted, appearing next to her and stabbing a Zetsu lunging at her.

Mikasa laughed. "Even?"

"Even, now try not to wander off again."

Akira ripped his sword from the Zetsu and jumped back to the ground, swinging his sword in an arc that severed several arms and bodies. "Angela, to me!" he shouted.

Angela appeared from the smoke over the battlefield, jumping over him and bringing her broadsword crashing down. The massive blade cut through multiple opponents, from shoulder to toe they were split in half.

Akira and Angela moved nearly back to back, the overwhelming number of enemies backed off somewhat.

"Now!" she shouted, outstretching and arm but keeping the other in a firm grip on her blade.

Akira grabbed her wrist with a tight hold, pulling back and around with enough force to lift her off the ground and rip her sword out of the ground and bodies. The force of it carried her and her outstretched blade in an impossibly large arc that easily cut down the front line of Zetsu and zombies. The arc ended with Angela landing on her feet at Akira's side.

More moved in only for a jagged tail to crush them or be burned by Mikasa's dragon.

"Devour them in your fire, old friend," Makasa said as she pulled out two twin battle axes in each hand.

The dragon did just that, spitting fire over large areas and using its tail to destroy others. Mikasa jumped off the dragon's back and easily began ripping into several enemies at a time, the blades of her axes cleaving enemies into halves or other portions.

A massive form then appeared and tried to crush the dragon, only for that dragon to light the mass on fire and dispelling it in smoke.

From that smoke, Hanzo of the Salamander flew out and tried to impale Mikasa with the blade of his kusarigama.

Though Mikasa was prepared to handle it, Hanzo was suddenly swatted off to the side by a large, deep purple, ethereal, and skeletal hand. She looked over to see Sasuke standing there with his partial Susanoo activated.

"What are you doing here?" Mikasa asked. "You were exiled."

"Are you going to complain?" Sasuke retorted. "You're all knee-deep in crap. You'll need all the help you can get. Now I'll cover the zombies. You burn those Zetsu!"

* * *

_**Zetsu**_ appeared in what remained of one of the central chambers of the cave. He looked up through the hole in the ceiling before looking at the bodies on the ground. It was time to put the final phases into motion.

He knelt next to the sealing array and activated it, the black mass stretching forward and touched the body in the enter, forcing it to mold several hand seals. The last hand seal was formed and held there. The life left each of the bodies as a large head pushed through the rubble and opened it's maw to release a single green light. That light then plunged into Madara's chest.

The cracks along his body began to heal, color returned to his skin, and his eyes turned to dust.

The moment his body was fully alive, Madara walked over to the body in the center of the array and pulled his eyes out of the body that was laying there. He then pressed the eyes into his own sockets and blinked several times now that he had them again.

"It's rather late in the plan, Zetsu," Madara said. "I can already feel that the war has begun."

**"There were complications, but everything is now on track."**

"Good, now why are you still molded to my skin?"

"That would be because he has deceived you brother."

Madara turned, surprised to see Izuna standing there.

"He has deceived and used you as he has our entire clan and the Senju clan since the time of the Sage of Six Paths. We are not meant to fulfill your plan. We were meant to fulfill his plan."

"What? Zetsu, is this true?" Madara asked.

**"Yes it is. I used you like the pawns you are meant to be. And now everything is almost at an end. You've almost outlived your usefulness."**

Though resisting, Madara formed the rib cage and arm of his Susanoo, moving with the attempt to stab his brother with its sword. The sword, however, was forced to the side as Izuna blocked it with the hand of his own, deep maroon Susanoo.

"Don't forget who's eyes my big brother has, Zutsu!" Izuna said as his Susanoo formed another hand and swatted Madara away.

Choosing to go for speed, Madara jumped back and tried to punch Izuna through the ribs of his Susanoo. Izuna replied in kind, matching Madara's fist with his own. Madara angled the force of his punch to force Izuna's downward along with a large portion of his upper body.

As Izuna went downward, Madara sent an upward kick to his face. He blocked the kick with one arm before grabbing hold of the leg and standing up. He rapidly turned in a full circle, sending Madara flying into a wall.

Pulling himself from the crater in the cave wall, Madara stood up. "Good job little brother," he ground out, trying to resist Zetsu's influence. "On your left."

Madara disappeared from view, appearing in the air ready to land a spinning kick to Izuna's head. Izuna rapidly moved, using a well-placed fist on Madara's knee to change momentum and send his brother face-first into the ground. The older brother was quickly back up, jumping away and moving through hand seals as he went.

**"Katon: Dark Blaze!"**

Madara held out his arm and spit out a line of fire that coiled around his arm and shot out towards Izuna who jumped over the fire only for Madara to pull upward and hit his target anyways. Izuna grimaced as he was thrown into a section of the remaining ceiling and then dropped.

The moment his imprint was made in the ground, Izuna was back up and charged Madara, knocking the breath out of his lungs with his fists. He then grabbed his brother's arms and threw him over his head into a cave wall.

Madara was lunging back, bringing a fist down on his brother only to get a fireball in his face.

Izuna kept the fire going, but was surprised as Madara's Susanoo drove it's sword through his chest, though the sword was different than it's usual. The new sword seemed fluid.

Izuna's body suddenly started being sucked away into the sword.

"I always hated this sword. Figures Zetsu would make me end it with this," Madara said.

"Yeah, it never fit your style," Izuna said before his body was sucked away into Madara's Totsuka Blade.

Madara then landed as the dust settled. He then pulled out the small tube with Obito's eyes.

 **"Enough talking and distractions. Time to proceed with the plan,"** Zetsu said before several wood clones formed. **"Go get the jinchuriki. I'll get the statue."**

* * *

_**Shino**_ was having massive amounts of trouble, being forced to rely on using kunai to avoid the Zetsu obtaining his chakra. He was eventually forced to fall back but used his insects in more creative ways. Some of those ways were to have them eat away at the ground to trap the Zetsu in pits or lift large segments of stone and drop them on enemies.

He moved to stab another Zetsu in the eye but stopped moving, as did each Zetsu and zombie, when the ground suddenly cracked and there was a massive release of pressure.

With a monstrous and ear-shattering roar, a titanic hand reached out of the ground and hefted up an even larger body. The body looked mostly like an emaciated humanoid with a twisted neck and elongated limbs. It lifted itself onto its legs as it's ten tails furled out behind it. It then looked over the battlefield and roared again, ready to destroy all it saw.

Madara stood on top of its head, hating that what he had dreamed of for so long was being turned against him. He had long dreamed of standing here on top of the Juubi at the end of the plan. And now that he knew he had been used for someone else's work, all he felt was a bitter taste.

**"All that's left is for the beast to fully mature, Madara. And then you will be its host. Then your purpose will be complete and my mother will finally return."**

* * *

_**Naruto**_ appeared in the battle-torn wasteland in a flash, his sons and Kichigai next to him. He tossed Skull to the ground and let his limp body lay there. He looked around, displeased but not surprised to see the massive roots spread across the ground with thousands of people hanging from them. His interest was especially piqued to see Sasuke laying on the ground with blood seeping from one eye and slightly burned, but otherwise, merely unconscious.

And then he looked to the source of all this chaos. Kaguya Ootsutsuki standing there in front of the tree, Black Zetsu clinging to her sleeve.

Skull's body twitched and his head turned to stare forward and see what had been wrought upon the world through his efforts. And then, regardless of the pain it caused him, regardless of the brain damage, he smiled.

"Yes," Skull rasped out. "Welcome back to the world, my beloved. Your most faithful Takizawa has seen to it that you have been revived."


	24. Chapter 24

_**Naruto**_ was surprised to see hands wrapped around his sword, stopping it from going more than a few thousand nanometers into Skull's frontal lobe. Fearing that it might not cause enough permanent damage, he tried to push the blade deeper.

Zetsu, whose hands were the ones stopping the sword in the first place, laughed. "The tree is only just beginning to really grow into the sky. We need to keep you here a while longer," he said before pushing back.

Naruto was forced back, his sword ripping apart Skull's eye as it went, but leaving the brain with hardly anything more than a scratch. He was even able to look through the torn apart socket to see Skull's brain form a minuscule scar before protective layers of tissue regrew and the eye rematerialized.

As the scar over his mind formed, Skull felt images flying through his mind. He could see the memories flashing past his mind's eye. Memories of his mistakes. Of how his own inaction had thrown the world into chaos.

He saw Kaguya screaming in agony as her mind broke. He felt himself break again as he felt the pain she did. He saw the madness he planted sprout a dark bud.

"I thought your brain didn't heal," Naruto said as Skull came to.

"I said it doesn't regrow, not that it doesn't heal," Skull said. "The damage is still there. For example, I find myself unable to express my great displeasure via facial expressions. The damage you have done to my frontal lobe was minuscule, so I am glad, but either way, the damage has impaired my ability to visibly display emotion."

"So what now?"

"Now I end what I began two millennia ago."

Everything became heavy as Skull said this, Naruto's chakra pathways shutting down in response to what Skull was doing to hinder their abilities.

Skull walked over to Naruto and delivered a heavy punch to his face, sending him to the ground.

"I've spent two millennia on this! You couldn't imagine what I've gone through to get this far!" Skull shouted, sending a kick to Naruto's ribs. "Blood! Pain! Suffering beyond your imagining!" he said, punctuating the sentences with a kick.

Naruto spat blood out of his mouth and looked up at him. "So you would imprison the world and turn everyone into White Zetsu? And for what?! What has all this been for?!" he shouted, pushing himself to his feet as fast as he could. He tried to deliver a blow to Skulls stomach only to have the fist caught and redirected.

Skull then used a roundhouse kick to Naruto's face to send him flying. "All of this was to forgive the sins of the past! My sins! The day I let Kaguya eat the fruit, releasing the taint of chakra on this world! The day I gave her my progeny! Everything has been because of my mistakes. But all of them would never even have been sins if I had killed Zetsu when I had the chance."

"What are you talking about? Kurama said that you were older even than him, but you gave Kaguya the fruit from the Shinju? And...did you say progeny?"

"Gave her the fruit? I guarded the damned thing for four thousand years. I was the first immortal human being to walk this world. And yes, my progeny. I am the father of Hagoromo Ootsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths. I am Takizawa Otsutsuki."

Skull sent a savage kick to Naruto's ribs. "Without your chakra, you are weak! Humanity has become reliant on a taint. The immortality? It was part of that taint. The overload of chakra into the system, and perhaps my own history with the Shinu played a part, created my immortality. And every so often, someone emerges with that flaw in their genetic code. The chakra corrupts their very being until they cannot die. Ever since my son propagated chakra into the world, people suffer under the hand of my wrongdoings."

"Because of you. Not your son or your wife. You started this madness," Naruto said.

Skull laughed. "True enough."

Naruto forced himself to his feet again, his face bloodied and his body heavier than ever. "I always thought this was Kaguya. That it was Zetsu and his plan to revive the one whose will he was created from. But it was you. You aren't trying to activate the dream to be reunited with someone you lost. You're actually trying to revive Kaguya. You are well aware of the end game."

"Aware? I was never some tool of Black Zetsu. I gave him purpose just as Kaguya did after smelting down her brother and turning him into that thing. Yes. But you are a threat to that. I told Zetsu a long time ago we should kill you or at least redirect your path. But he figured it would be too soon, making things more difficult. It would seem no difficulty brought by killing you would have been worse than this."

"Everything that's happened, all that I have suffered, was because of you? What gives you the right to ruin everyone else's lives just to correct your own mistakes? Why was my suffering justified?!"

Skull pulled his original sword out of Zetsu's regrown arm and held it out to his side. "What gives me the right you ask? I thought that would be mind-numbingly obvious. You exist because of my mistakes. Your life originates from my decision. Therefore, you should have considered yourself lucky that through the correction of my sins, you would even be left alive. But I can't risk leaving you alive anymore. To do so and take such a risk would be an affront to my love."

Without any time to dodge, Skull stabbed his sword forward, aiming for Naruto's heart.

Naruto tried to move, tried to duck. To dodge. To do anything to avoid this. By his own calculations, he only had three clones left in the world, and he was unsure what the results would be with whatever Skull was doing, if he would even connect with those clones.

' _Will the barrier let me incarnate to my clones? If so, will I be able to return here to save my sons? Will I fail? Has everything led up to this? Am I about to die here?_

As the blade moved through the air, Skull had his own thoughts. His mind moved to his failures and how this moment would see them corrected.

* * *

 _ **Kaguya**_ sat there, holding her son's in her arms. They were so adorable, so small, so fragile, and yet such a massive impact on her as she sat there, crying over them. She was unable to tell if they were of happiness; the joy she felt over the lives she had created right there in her arms lifting her and her spirits higher than they had been in a long time, or if they were of sadness; the unbearable and crippling pain of looking at them and only remembering the fresh wound that was Takizawa's death.

" **What will you name them?"** Zetsu said, cleaning his blood and other bodily fluid soaked arms.

She turned to him, feeling hatred for what he once was, yet also love for the same reason. And now, looking at him after he had helped deliver her children, she felt an attachment to this thing which had also become her son.

When she had reformed this creation, she had destroyed the old mind. While some of its personality had remained intact, that only served to solidify it's loyally and affection for her. And now its life was as new and important to her as the ones she held so close to her chest.

She looked at the one in her right arm. "This one...His name will be Hagoromo." And then she looked at the one on the left. "And he will be Hamura. My two sons who shall inherit this world and guide it with a steady hand together long after I'm gone."

And then she turned again to Zetsu. "Zetsu, if something happens to me, watch out for them."

" **Of course, mother."**

* * *

 _ **Takizawa**_ opened his eyes, feeling as though they had been closed for a long time, longer than they should or could have been. And yet, he couldn't tell how he felt this, or why. It was as though he was born for the first time. He could feel his name, tingling in his mind. But all else was blank. Empty.

"T-Taki...zawa," He uttered to no one in particular.

The sound of his own voice surprised him. He couldn't remember it. It was as new to him as the green around him was. The trees, the grass, all of it. He knew what they were called, but this was the first time he had ever experienced them.

He sat up, knowing what he was doing, but as with everything else, experiencing the sensation newly.

And then a single sentence came to him, explaining to him why he knew nothing.

"I am reborn." He said to himself.

* * *

 _ **Takizawa**_ moved down another hallway splattering the blood of another mercenary all over the walls. He continued only to have a sword plunged through his chest from behind, eliciting a shout of pain.

"Finally got you, ya bastard," someone said from behind him.

"That's the first injury anyone has given me over the past year," Takizawa said before turning around and using his own sword to kill the man behind him.

He leaned back and let the sword fall back out before the wound closed just as quickly as it had appeared. He then turned back to the wall at the end of the hallway, a door sitting there in the middle of it.

After a few more steps his hand was in the handle and sliding the door open, finally achieving what he had been fighting for.

His face turned slightly dark, looking around and seeing the other captured slaves dead or dying. He saw the woman he was there for, her sister in her arms as she cried.

"Yuuki," Takizawa said, walking up to her.

At first, she backed away in terror, afraid at what he might want with her.

He rushed to her, gently cupping her face in his hands, focusing her vision on his face.

"It's me Yuuki. Takizawa."

She stopped struggling and looked at him and smiled before clutching at him, wrapping her arm around him.

"Taki...Taki. You came for us. After so long. Please..."

"Ssshh," he hushed her, quietly. "It's alright."

"Please, Taki..."

"Yes? What is it? Anything."

"Taki, please, kill me."

His eyes widened and he backed up. "What? What are you saying? Why?"

"My sister, she begged me to kill her. Afterward, I tried to kill myself too, but I can't. I'm not strong enough. Please, kill me," she said weekly, sobs racking her body.

"I can't. After everything, I can't just kill you."

"Please! Everything I've survived through, I don't want to anymore! Do it! Kill me!"

Takizawa sat in silence for a time he couldn't measure. His mind reeled at what she was asking of him. All of this he had done for her, and now she begged him to kill her? And then something clicked. He loved her. He would do anything for her.

"I will do anything to make you happy, my love," he said, before piercing her belly with his sword. He twisted the blade and pulled it upward into the ribcage, dragging a moan of pain from Yuuki's lips as he easily sliced through her internal organs and ended her life.

As the light slowly left her eyes, she smiled. "Thank you, Taki."

And in that instant, Takizawa remembered everything. His mind reverted, everything he knew came back to him. How he was, how he had lost his memory, his wife, everything.

He sat there for a moment, clutching his head. And when he slid his eyes open, he looked down at Yuuki. He grabbed her head and looked at her calm, smiling face.

"Lend me your skull, my love, for it shall be my face and my farce."

* * *

 _ **Skull**_ sat in the tree watching Kaguya as she watched their sons spar. He watched well from a distance, unable to muster the courage to go to her and tell her he was alive. How could he?

He had awoken the day his children had been born, an action he saw as no coincidence. After that, it had been three years before Yuuki had been taken. A year, he spent tracking her down. And since his memories had returned, it had taken him almost five more years to make himself go back.

And now he sat there. He had been watching from a distance for another five years, watching his children grow to the age of fourteen without him. He sat there, pride at what they had grown to be, but hatred for himself at his inaction both filling his chest.

Kaguya herself sat there, watching her boys as they trained. It had gotten worse, this hatred for how they reminded her of everything she had lost. She even hated herself for hating them for something she had done. Every day she could feel her heart breaking more.

As her life had become more secluded, so to had her mind become that much more fragile.

Skull kept watching from his distance, wishing above all else he could make himself go out there and say something. He saw how she was suffering, he saw it all. But how could he do that to them, to just be back one day, alive? He didn't know how to do it, and his fear of what it would do to her kept him away.

"I'm so sorry Kaguya, my love. I can see it. I'm no longer lost, and I can see that you are no longer the same. I can see you starting to break. But I can't do anything. I want to, I must, but I can't. I'm so sorry."

Kaguya thought she felt something, her ears twitching as she turned to the direction Skull had once been. And all she saw was an empty tree.

* * *

 _ **Kaguya**_ laid in bed that night, Skull watching her sleep from the window. She tossed and turned, clearly stressed.

It had been another few years, and Skull felt the resolve inside. It was finally time to reveal himself. All he had to do now was go up to her and say it. And then they would be together again. He would do it tomorrow, after she woke up. Even if she hated him for leaving her alone all those years, it was time to set things right.

However, he slid out of the window just before she shot up, screaming in fear and agony.

Over the past years, the visions and nightmares had gotten worse. Each one showed her terrible images, things that disgusted her.

She had realized a while back that Chakra had passed down to her sons, and now it was all she could do to withstand the thoughts of what they would do with it.

They wanted her power, they would take her power and kill her if need be to further themselves. That was the thought she had constantly tried to fight off. But now she realized she no longer could. She couldn't let the world fall into chaos because of her sons. She needed to do something, anything, to stop them.

* * *

 _ **Skull**_ thrust his sword forward, ready to kill Naruto as the blade went, but his blade was stopped prematurely as another body was stabbed.

"Kichigai? Why?" Naruto asked, seeing his counterpart standing there with a sword through his chest.

"I know your fears, we share them. We have the same mind, you and I. I can't avenge you if you die, but you can avenge me! So, avenge me! Fill to me the parting glass!" Kichigai shouted, plunging his own sword into Skull's chest.

Skull laughed. "That won't do you too well, remember?"

"Oh I remember. This sword was built to fight immortals though, just in case you didn't grant me asylum," Kichigai mumbled before sliding up a piece of his swords handle and pressing a button.

The flats of Kichigai's sword sprouted jagged barbs through the release of a mechanism.

"Try removing it easily now, you cryptic asshole!" Kichigai shouted.

Skull gripped Kichigai's neck and snapped it before tossing the body away and turning back to Naruto. "Admirable effort as it was, Kichigai failed to change anything."

Naruto braced for the inevitable before screaming in agony. Not from Skull's sword, but all across his body there was an unbearable pain.

Skull looked at him in confusion. "What are you doing? I haven't even stabbed you yet."

Suddenly there was a burst of yellow lightning across the area that arced over the ground. It burst again and again in bursts of light.

"That's not possible." Skull said. "They weren't for Naruto! You son of a bitch! Those clones were for you!"

Kichigai appeared in the midst of another yellow flash, every bit of the Kyuubi's chakra he could muster into a six tailed version-two state, a compressed Biju Dama in its mouth and ready to fire. And he was directly above Skull.

The sphere fired off, leaving no time for Skull to manually dismantle to chakra making up the sphere, and being too large for the field to immediately stop it.

As the explosion ripped the area apart, Kichigai used his own, rapidly degrading, biju form to protect Naruto from the force of the attack. For several minutes, the resulting dust storm put everything in darkness.

* * *

 _ **Sasuke**_ used his Susanoo to run up the body of the Juubi, Ochiai standing next to him within the jewel.

"Get me close and I'll do what damage I can!" Ochiai shouted over the winds.

"I'm working on it!" Sasuke yelled, cutting through another tendril that sprouted and tried to stop them.

As another tendril shot out to get them, Sasuke moved to cut that one down as well. It immediately split off into hundreds of directions to avoid the sword of Sasuke's Susanoo and began entangling its body.

"Go!" Sasuke shouted.

Chakra flowed, sending Ochiai into the Susanoo's hand before throwing him.

Ochiai flew through the air, landing next to Madara. He rapidly brought his broadsword down on the Uchiha's head.

Madara grabbed the blade between the palms of his hands and stopped it, sending it to the side.

"I'm sorry," Madara said as his arms moved.

" **I'm not!"** Black Zetsu said, driving Madara's arm through Ochiai's chest.

Ochiai smirked. "Nice try pall, but I happen to be one those immortals you've been hearing about." He grabbed Madara's arm and started pulling himself off of it.

" **I know,"** Zetsu said, ripping his arm up and out through Ochiai's neck before kicking the immortal into the air.

Madara's Susanoo formed, readying to seal Ochiai inside the Totsuka Sword.

Ochiai said his final words as the sword drove towards him. Just before the blade made contact with him, an ethereal purple blade flew upward, disrupting Madara's sword's trajectory.

"Don't forget how outnumbered you are!" Sasuke screamed, digging the fingers of his ethereal warrior into the very flesh of the Juubi to climb to Madara's position.

" **And don't you insects dare forget how outclassed you are,"** Zetsu muttered, flashing through hand seals at a blinding pace. **"Kaotn: Grand Flame Flower!"**

A plethora of fireballs appeared I the air, hundreds of them raining down to stop Sasuke.

As the fireballs came down, Zetsu gave a dark smirk. **"It's almost time. Rise, Shinju!"**

The Juubi let out a massive and low roar as the bud on its back suddenly shot open, vines and branches expanding outward and firing into the sky. Each vine entangling within themselves and growing ever further upward.

The Juubi's arms exploded into roots that buried their way into the ground as well as across the battlefield, crashing through the clashing armies.

The Bahamut fortress aimed its cannons, firing a concentrated beam of energy through the trunk of the still-growing tree. As the Juubi screamed in pain and the tree almost began tipping over, roots and vines grew at rapid paces to reconnect the tree.

The fortress readied to fire again, only for the Juubi to swing a tail around the regenerating tree and crash into the Bahamut.

On the battlefield, Shino looked into the air as the fortress careened out of the sky in an explosion of fire and metal. "Son of a bitch," he mumbled. And in his stunned state, he didn't even feel the blade through his chest.

Black Zetsu looked upon the devastation he had wrought before turning to the now fully grown tree, the roots separating from the Juubi itself as they each became self-sustaining. He slammed Madara's hand into the head of the massive tailed beast, its body suddenly being sucked away into him.

" **You are almost free, mother."**

"He's making Madara the jinchuriki!" Sasuke shouted, holding Ochiai in the Susanoo's arm while doing his best to withstand Zetsu's Katon jutsu. "We need to stop him!"

Ochiai felt a substantial weight in his chest as the tree held his gaze. "I'm not sure we can." He whispered to himself.

And as the Juubi disappeared, Madara's body changed to accommodate the creature. And then he shot up into the sky, towards the moon.

* * *

 _ **The**_ wind and dust settled and sunlight shone through the air again, allowing everything to come back into focus. Naruto lowered his arm, seeing that Kichigai was back to square one with his portion of Kurama's chakra dissipated and locked away again.

Skull stood there, the flesh over his face reforming along with the rest of the right half of his body. There was still the barbed remains of Kichigai's sword still stuck in his chest.

"Impressive." Skull rasped out, his vocal cords still growing back. "But worthless. I wonder what would happen if I dropped the field right now?" He looked into the air as the moon shone blood-red with the image of the Rinne Sharingan reflected on it.

Skull started laughing, his throat spurting blood as he did so. "They say the only true battle is survival. So you lose after all."

As Skull let his influence over their chakra fall away, letting the influence of the Infinite Tsukuyomi inside, he laughed. While Skull's own immortality and resistance to chakra as a whole left him unaffected, Naruto realized it was time to play his hand. His next ace.

With his chakra pathways suddenly opened, white fire ripped across the area. At first it merely stretched out to cover Naruto, Kichigai, Kureo, and Kagari in thin veils of white flame. And then it began taking the shape of an ethereal white warrior.

And as that warrior took shape, Naruto stood within its protective area. Golden chakra started filling out its body and increasingly reptilian features took over the armor, the head morphing into that of a fox's as Kurama's chakra was no longer restrained.

"Not even the Susanoo should protect you. How are you resisting the Infinite Tsukuyomi?" Skull said in shock, furry, and infinitesimal traces of fear. "How are you doing this?"

Naruto turned his head up and looked him in the eye.

Skull became serious and nodded. "I understand now, but where did you get those?"

"They were Roku Uzumaki's final gift to the world," Naruto said. "And quite possibly, it's salvation."

* * *

 _ **Anko**_ crouched to avoid another cut from Kabuto's bone sword. Kabuto himself jumped into the air to dodge Orochimaru's own Kusanagi.

Taking an opening, Kabuto was about to send a hail of bone bullets towards Anko only for a massive root to crash through the ceiling. As they all scrambled to move out of the way of falling debris and writhing wood.

"What the hell was that?!" Kabuto shouted.

Anko stared at the roots as they grew deeper and deeper into the ground, the cave itself being moved around to accommodate the wooden appendages. "This is it! The Shin: Nativity of a World of Trees! Zetsu has activated the Infinite Tsukuyomi!"

"What are you talking about?" Kabuto asked, emerging from the dust.

"Oh, so you really were Zetsu's servant?" Orochimaru snickered out. "He offered you a position in history as a provider for his army and you gave him what he wanted; no questions asked."

"The Infinite Tsukuyomi is a genjutsu that uses the moon to reflect its light across the entire world at the same time, enslaving anyone under its gaze," Anko said. "The Shin: Nativity of a World of Trees then connects them to the Shinju so that the user can use their collected chakra at will. You've been played the fool, Kabuto. Used as a tool," she said, dashing behind Kabuto and cutting through a vine that tried to take him down.

"It doesn't care who you work with Kabuto. It's after the world, and you won't be around after it's done to have your footnote in history," Orochimaru said.

Kabuto clenched his fists. "All my life, I've tried to forge my own identity. To make my own name, my own life. And now, as I'm on the verge of my own life being mine, I was used, just like I've always been used. Tell me, Anko Mitarashi..."

"What?" Anko asked.

"Where do I find the son of a bitch that used me like this? I think it's time I put them down."

Orochimaru hummed in enjoyment. "Finally, Kabuto. You're finally cultivating your own path, just as you should have from the beginning."

Kabuto looked at him. "Orochimaru, what are you-"

"First thing's first, Kabuto. The light of this genjutsu will last a few minutes, but once it ends and we get to the surface there will be plenty of work to do."

"Well, then it's a good thing I've got plenty of workers still running around."

* * *

***flashback***

_**Naruto**_ stood in his office, having only gotten rid of Kichigai minutes ago as he stared through the hole in his office wall and watched his village burn. He saw a path laid out before him, one bathed in blood. An endless sea of blood. Peace could wait. And it would wait...It would wait until he decided there was enough blood.

And then he fell over, unconscious and tired from the day. From Kichigai taking over and his eventual return from the brink of madness.

Once he opened his eyes, he was walking within the very familiar flooded industrial basement. He wasn't entirely sure where he was going. Kurama was not using any form of mental pull to communicate with him, and he himself had not gone there of his own will.

He turned down another corner, feeling something familiar. "I feel something. A presence I haven't felt since..." He paused, turning to see an easily recognizable figure standing there in his white robes with the black sword at his hip.

"Hello, Naruto," Roku said.

"Roku? But how? You're dead."

Roku laughed at Naruto's astonishment. "Yes, I am. And I have you to thank for that. Seeing everything that has happened, I'm sorry to have left you to deal with everything yourself."

"No, you've handled things yourself for a long time. But what about now? What's going on?"

"Well, you have finally gotten rid of Kichigai. It's what I've been waiting for."

"You've been waiting for this to happen?"

"Not this exact scenario per se, but yes. You see, when I transferred all of my chakra all at once into you, I did it in a way that helped you develop your plan for Kaguya. Not my original intent to say the least, but it served the only purpose it needed. It got rid of my physical form, allowed me to finally die, and merged our chakra. I'm not really me, just an after-shadow left behind much like your parents with their chakra in the seal."

"I know all that, but why?"

"Well, when I did this, I made sure to give you a tool I felt you would need in the coming war. But it wasn't something I could just give you so long as Kichigai remained a threat that could take over and use that tool. That's why you're here. You have passed the final test, gotten rid of the threat holding you back, and proven yourself worthy of this gift. Or gifts rather."

"Alright, what gifts."

Roku smirked before a section of water on the floor turned to a reflective pane of ice. He gestured for Naruto to give it a look and started laughing at Naruto as he fell backward in surprise.

"Like them?" Roku asked.

"Yes, I like them, but it's just so shocking."

"Imagine how I felt the first time they showed up. They will take some getting used to, but I'm sure you will need them in the coming war."

"So sure are you? I find your lack of faith disturbing."

"Say what you will, but I'm sure you will find them invaluable. Especially with recent events."

"You're suggesting I bring back Hinata? I could. I really could do it. But what about Zetsu? He would know. I could use this as a trump card. Another ace. As great as this is, both as a weapon and a trump card, Shino is going to hate me for this. Anko is going to hate me for this. Hell, I'm going to hate myself. I can't reveal this yet. I'm going to need to keep this secret. It would seem that, for the time being at least, the dead will need to stay dead."

"I understand. That must be a hard choice for you. But if you fail to win this war, it won't matter. And if you succeed there are unlimited possibilities at your disposal. But either way, the choice is yours."

Naruto's tone became somber. "No, it really isn't. I want to bring her back, but the choice has already been made."

"Then go. I think your friends are worried about you. And something tells me they should be."

"Yeah, they should. Now it's time to put an end to this legend."

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ stood in the semi-lit room that housed the clones, thinking about what needed to be done. Shino would be here soon and he needed his friend to understand. He couldn't keep his oldest friend in the dark. He and Anko both needed to know, but Shino was a good first step.

He heard the clanging of the door opening and then the footsteps of his friend walking up behind him.

"What's up, Naruto?" he asked.

"Hey, Shino. Tell me the answer to a question, will you? Do you trust me? No matter what?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

Naruto sighed and turned around showing his friend his eyes. Shino smiled and rushed forward.

"This is great! With this, we can save Hinata! We can bring back all the people who Madara killed! This is-"

He stopped, noticing that his friend only grew more somber looking as he spoke.

"You aren't going to use it, are you," Shino said, backing up.

"No," Naruto said.

Shino clenched his fists. "Why not?! She is our friend and this is our village! But you would leave them as they are?!"

"Do you think it's easy for me?" Naruto asked in a dead tone. "Tell me, what would happen if Zetsu knew I had these eyes?"

A realization came to Shino. "You want to use them as weapons during the war."

"No. I want to use them as last resorts should I have no other way of winning. I have every intention of saving everyone, but first, I must finish what others started so long ago. Should I fail to stop Kaguya's resurrection, these will be the only hope left."

"So then, you've already factored this into all your plans? The same with these clones?"

"Yes."

There was a lengthy pause.

"Naruto, is this such a good idea?" Shino asked.

"What do you mean, Shino?" Naruto replied.

"Everything. These clones. Your plan for the immortals. Your mobilization of Orb. And then keeping _that_ from everyone. I'm not pleased about the fact that you haven't used it, and the only reason I haven't killed you for not doing so is because you are my friend and I am trying to trust you. That, and I don't have the reserves to do it myself."

"Shino...are you willing to trust me until the very end? I have a plan laid out because I have no doubt that certain things are about to happen. And...and I think that I will use it. Right there at the end of all this. Shino. I have a feeling that the path I walk..." he paused and let out a deep sigh. He turned around and walked towards the door but stopped to place his hand on Shino's shoulder. "When this all ends...when we finally win...when the world has turned into what you, me, Hinata, Anko, and so many others have dreamt of for so long...it will be in that moment that I will lead my own path...and in that moment, where I lead, you cannot follow. Do you understand?"

* * *

 _ **Itachi**_ walked into the Hokage's office, seeing Naruto and Inuza sitting there. He walked up and sat down in one of the chairs, letting out a heavy sigh.

"You didn't need to do that, my friend." Naruto said.

"I know. But I want him to stand a chance," Itachi replied. He looked up to show that one of his eyes were grey and blind.

"He will be exiled. How can you even be sure there is a point? We will need your Susanoo during the war," Izuna said.

"Guilt ways heavily on him. He's made mistakes but when everything goes wrong, he will do what he's been trying to do for years; the right thing. When it all starts, he'll come back. It's the only 'right thing' left to do."

"Yes, but-"

"What's done is done, Izuna," Naruto interrupted. "He can't uninstall the Izanagi from Sasuke's eye. Any debate is pointless now. All we can do is hope that Sasuke actually returns so it's not wasted. However, Itachi, you do know what happens if he does return, right? Should he return and survive the war, I'll have no choice but to end his life. If I don't, Anko and Shino would be only too willing to do it for me. I will have to do it as the leader or look weak."

Itachi sighed. "I understand. Don't take this the wrong way, but a part of me hopes he survives and you do not."

"I understand completely, my old friend, but should everything go according to plan, you shouldn't need to really worry."

* * *

***Flashback End***

_**As**_ the light of the Infinite Tukuyomi faded away, Naruto appeared in the battle-torn wasteland in a flash. With his sons and Kichigai at his side, he tossed Skull to the ground and let his limp body lay there. He looked around, displeased but not surprised to see the massive roots spread across the ground with thousands of people hanging from them.

His interest was especially piqued to see Sasuke laying on the ground with blood seeping from one eye and slightly burned, but otherwise, merely unconscious.

"It would seem Itachi's investment was not misplaced." Ha mumbled.

And then he looked to the source of all this chaos. Kaguya Ootsutsuki standing there in front of the tree, Black Zetsu clinging to her sleeve.

Skull's body twitched and his head turned to stare forward and see what had been wrought upon the world through his efforts. And then, regardless of the pain it caused him, regardless of the brain damage, he smiled.

"Yes," Skull rasped out. "Welcome back to the world, my beloved. Your most faithful Takizawa has seen to it that you have been revived."

He started picking himself up, the last pieces of shattered skull falling from his face. His wavy hair falling down to his mid-back and his face now seen without the skull obstructing the view of it.

"Long ago a monster guarded the sacred fruit. And millennia later, it has finally come full circle for my mistakes to correct themselves."

Kaguya looked at Takizawa for a moment, at first unable to recognize him. Her eyes then widened in shock. Tears flowed from her eyes.

"Taki? Is it you? Taki? My sweet Taki?" she asked.

Black Zetsu said nothing and Naruto remained still as Takizawa walked over to her, a slight limp in his step before the final piece of skin and tissue stitched back together. And within seconds he stood right in front of her.

Her hand moved and she cupped his cheek, pulling him closer.

"It's me, my love. I've missed you so very much," Takizawa said.

"It's been so very long, according to Zetsu. Yet you haven't aged a day. You look so handsome. Now I am complete."

"Do not worry. I'm here. I'm so sorry I left you alone for so long. After Zetsu blew up our home, I had no memory, but after I remembered I wanted nothing more than to return. But I was so scared. And then you started to attack our sons. At the time, there was nothing I could do but wait and watch. My own fear kept me from you, but now, I have ravaged nations and traversed time to set things right. To bring you back."

Kaguya grabbed his shoulders, pulled him tightly against her, and leaned her head into his chest. "I'm so glad that after all these years, the visions are showing me something pleasant rather than all the pain. After all the nightmares and all the hatred, I'm finally in a pleasant dream. So that means I can at last finish this. And on a happy note too."

"What are you saying Kaguya?"

"You aren't real. Just like all the others. But thank you."

"No. Kaguya, it's really me. I'm actually he-"

There was a wave of energy that blasted him backward across the area. He stabbed his sword into the ground, using it to anchor himself.

Naruto used his Susanoo to protect himself and the others around him from the force, using one of the ethereal hands to grab Sasuke.

As the energy dissipated, Takizawa got his feet back under him and stared at his wife. "Zetsu, tell her. Tell her I'm real."

Zetsu stayed silent, holding no intention of doing anything for Takizawa.

Takizawa's fists balled and he clenched his teeth. "Zetsu, you traitorous bastard."

* * *

 _ **"What's**_ going on up there?" Anko asked, panicked by the rumbling earth.

Orochimaru snickered. "It seems the surface is safe since the final fight has begun. Let's get moving."

* * *

 _ **"It**_ would seem not everything went according to plan, Skull," Naruto said. He was half tempted to go ahead and use this to his advantage. Skull was still weak and this seemed to have left him in a daze. But he stood there, deciding to wait and watch.

Takizawa's face lit up with and smirk filled with anger and hatred. "That is correct, and I bet you are just happy to see it that way. I would be too."

"Quite the contrary. I'm glad that things have not ended as you hoped, but I am displeased at these results overall. Do not think I don't pity you for this."

* * *

 _ **Anko**_ and the others busted through the earth and stepped onto the ground, ready to fight if need be.

Orochimaru looked around. "Hmm. It would seem my summoner is in that direction," he said pointing towards where he could see the armor of a Susanoo from just above one of the roots. He moved to go towards it but noticed Anko moving elsewhere.

Anko moved a few meters away and dropped to her knees, grabbing Shino's head and holding him close. She began crying as sobs racked her body. "Shino. No. Why is it that out of everyone, I had to lose another one of my friends? Why?"

Orochimaru sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Anko. He's gone and there is nothing that can be done now. We must focus our minds on other tasks."

Anko rounded on him. "No! You! You bring him back! Revive him!" she yelled.

"You wouldn't want that. Not really. He would feel literally nothing and merely inhabit a shell. Besides, I don't have a body to sacrifice."

She turned to Kabuto, but he held out his hands to show they were empty. She let out another sob before letting out a guttural growl of pain and anger.

"Then I'll take him to Naruto. That bastard might not have done anything before, but he no longer has an excuse not to show his hand."

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ pulled out a large scroll and prepared himself to use it, but before anyone could react, there was loud screaming that drew Naruto's and everyone else's attention.

"Anko? So you were able to avoid the moon's light," Naruto mused. "Wait, why are you with Kabuto, and what are you carrying?"

Anko then landed in front of Naruto, hunched over for a moment.

"Anko, I'll worry about Kabuto later, but what are you carrying?" he asked.

"Naruto, you promised we wouldn't lose anyone else," she replied, much to Naruto's surprise, flooding him with fear at her meaning. "Now it's time you fix this!" she yelled, turning to him with a tear-stained face.

Naruto looked at Shino's body and became stone-faced. "Skull, we have yet another thing to add to the cost of your mission. Anko, give him to me," he said, done asking questions.

He took Shino from her and straightened his back. The air seemed to explode as the ground caved from the sheer force of Naruto's Susanoo expanding and rabidly growing into its full body form. The hands grabbed Anko, Takizawa, and the others, taking them up with him.

He sighed and activated a seal on his arm, using the Hiraishin to create a massive flash of light that engulfed the area. Once the light faded, hundreds of new people stood there, the clones Naruto had kept in Uzu.

"Kabuto, Orochimaru, I have no doubt you have some zombies left to help, bring them here and have them cover our temporary withdrawal," Naruto said.

Kabuto and Orochimaru nodded as they focused on their individual Edo Tensei.

He then looked at the hundreds of clones. "All of you, your purpose is to preserve the life of this world. Fulfill that purpose now and destroy the woman before us." He then looked down at Kaguya and shocked both her and Zetsu as his eyes then changed with a rippling pattern played over the orbs. The Rinnegan. These eyes being the only reason his Susanoo kept out the light and kept him awake with any others in his range.

The thing that had made Anko and Shino angry; that he had not used his gift from Roku to bring Hinata back from the dead. He had been afraid that using it to do so would cancel it as a tactical weapon. He knew he was right since Skull would have ended him much sooner had he known, but it changed nothing.

 **"Mother, we need to stop him!"** Zetsu said in panic.

Naruto's face grew feral and angry as he grew a ravenous smirk. "Kill Kaguya Otsutsuki!" A split second later and his shroud took off into the air.

Kaguya moved to try and attack Naruto directly, but the clones moved into her path, some of them with dragon wings and disfigured, reptilian bodies to stop her from simply flying over them. And then they began to chant.

"Don't interfere!" The words rang repeatedly and overlapping as each clone chanted the words, leaving Kaguya in stunned silence for a split second.

Regaining her senses, a rift in the air opened as she decided to avoid these annoyances. However, before she could move through, one of the clones grabbed hold of her robes, a Sharingan twisting around his eyes as black fire torrented from his eyes, trying to engulf Kaguya.

Before she could stop the flames, the blaze branched off to surround her and fill her spacial tear before bouncing back and hitting her in the back.

She was taken aback and severely burned across before quickly absorbing the chakra, regenerating her wounded body and cloak. She quickly cut down the clone but turned to see the fire burning within the rift she had opened, refusing her entry as it absorbed oxygen to fill the space between dimensions that she so freely used. The hole closed, but she knew it would take time for the lack of physical matter to fully disperse the flames.

Ripping her attention back were Zetsu's calls to her attention as sharp branches tried to rip into and destroy her, a clone controlling the growth from the ground. She easily glided between the wooden weapons but was forced to take further action when loud claps like thunder signaled a beam, like the fires of a sun focused into a stream no wider than a pin, aimed at her head and fired from the eyes of another Uchiha clone.

She twisted her body just enough to avoid the beam, though it disintegrated all in its path, including the branches and much of her flowing hair. She then held out her hand, launching a spear made of bone that impaled the beam-firing clone between his eyes, turning the body to ash.

* * *

 _ **Naruto's**_ shroud was moving further, but he knew he couldn't run forever. He quickly stopped and lowered them all to the ground, needing to set everything up.

"What's the plan, boy?" Orochimaru asked. "We can't keep running forever. Eventually, she will catch up to us."

"I know," Naruto said. "Anko, hold him," he said, passing her Shino's body. "I have to do something very important now."

He sat down and looked at Sasuke who seemed to be muttering in his sleep. He placed his hand on his head and used a seal to merge their mindscapes.

He opened his eyes to a rather strange sight. An old man hovering in the air above several Truth-Seeking Balls. His pale red hair, Rinnegan, horns, and white robe helped Naruto identify the man. The Sage of Six Paths.

The man looked up from Sasuke and at Naruto, Sasuke following his sight and turning to the one he once considered a brother.

"Very nice of you to join us, Lord Uzukage," Hagoromo said.

"I would normally say that it's an honor to meet my ancestor, let alone you in particular, but something tells me this is the grandmother of all Deus Ex Machina situations. Get to the point," Naruto said.

The Sage sighed. "I am here to give you power you are going to need if you want to seal my mother away like my brother and I did so long ago, as I have already explained to this young descendant of mine."

Naruto nodded. "Then it would seem I am not needed here."

This shocked Hagoromo. "You have planned for many things, young Uzumaki, including those eyes which were a surprise even to me. But do not think that means you can simply beat her. Without my power, she can't be sealed away again."

Naruto rounded on the man as his own mindscape began to materialize, Kurama forming behind him. "And which of us said anything about my intention to reseal your mother? I plan on doing what you should have done long ago, had your emotions not clouded your judgment. I'm not going to seal the broad because I have every intention of killing her."

The Sage's face grew grim. "I see. And how do you intend on doing that? I'll admit my brother and I could have killed her, but you are still far from powerful enough to do that. Even if you are the incarnation of my younger son."

"I suspected as much. Being your son's remanifestation that is. But I find your lack of faith disturbing."

The Sage waved his hand over the water, showing an image of the clones fighting Kaguya.

"Gone ten minutes and half of them are already gone. And your mother doesn't look too bad for ware. I suspected such results. Why show me this?" Naruto asked.

"Obviously they are your more important cards, yet you are unconcerned with them being played clearly not being enough?" Hagoromo asked.

"I didn't want to play these cards, but they are far from my strongest. I have yet to play my final ace, old man. The one that will tip the scales in my own favor, rather than your mother's."

"And what card would that be."

Naruto sighed and turned to Kurama. "Are you ready, Kurama? You do realize that there is no going back, right?"

Kurama nodded. **"I realized that the day I told you might even be possible. Do it, and come what may, we did this to save the world."**

Naruto nodded. "Should you be destroyed, what is left of the world will remember your sacrifice. I'll make sure of that. Now, this will most likely hurt."

He lifted his shirt, revealing the seal on his belly. His hand laid in the center and glowed with black energy, forcing eight small seals to appear, one at each of the symbols branching from the main one. As each appeared, so too did larger versions to appear around Kurama and show spectral forms of the other tailed beasts, their eyes hollow and dead.

"It didn't take long for the chakra to gather and reconstruct their forms to certain degrees, but they are mindless and soulless. Pray that leaves you in control."

Hagoromo tried to ask what Naruto meant, but realization dawned on him as the spectral Biju overlapped Kurama, beginning to merge with him.

"You're turning him into a new Juubi, with you as the shell to make the form hold," he said in surprise.

"Very astute, now stay silent."

All at once, the mindscape was filled with Naruto's screams of agony and Kurama's own roars of the same. While Naruto's most significant change at the moment was his hair becoming longer and wilder, Kurama's were more drastic and agonizing. The pain transcended the seal, forcing Naruto to withstand the pain of each rearranging molecule in Kurama's body.

Kurama's own tails remained at the same number, but all but one changed, each now resembling a tail of each of the Biju. However, each tail, along with the fur all over Kurama's body which became wild and prickly, turned a pure white. The skin on the first tail, the fire of the second, the shell plating on the third, the fur and spines of the fourth and fifth, the slime of the sixth, the whip-like seventh, and the tentacle of the eighth.

His fangs and claws lengthened, and grew sharper as his body moved into the last and most excruciating change.

Kurama's skull cracked and split, the top pulling back from the area close to the jaw and giving his eye sockets room to move closer together. As the eye sockets merged, the eyes were separate momentarily, forcing the new socket to accommodate two eyes and distort before they were forced together into a single sphere.

The new eye glowed, pure black dominating the sclera before hundreds of ripples of crimson splayed across the eye. Those ripples rested with five being visible along the orb with three white magatamas floating on the three inner rings.

"His Rinnegan looks different," Hagoromo observed.

Naruto nodded. "It's the added and, therefore, increased human element. The sealing arrays that bind them and keep this stable until it is complete. All of it coming together. But this will not be enough to beat your mother. I have calculated that I will need much more to even rival her power, let alone equal it."

"What will you need?"

"I'll need the tree. Now then, are you ready old friend? Certainly, that wasn't enough to put you down."

Kurama laughed and looked up at him. **"Let's kick some ass."**

"I was hoping you would say that." He then turned around. "What will you do, Sasuke?"

Sasuke took a moment to compose himself. "I'm going to help you however I can. Even if it kills me."

Naruto smirked. "Good to hear. It's time we got to work."

"If you fail to kill her, that will be on your head. Humanity will fall because you refused to seal her."

"Old man, it might very well be my decision that leads to humanity's fall, but it will be on your head for not killing her the first time around. But I can't fail. If I fail it won't matter because nothing will be left. The only thing that has an outcome is success. So, I will finish what you started."

Everything faded away and Naruto opened his eyes.

* * *

 _ **One**_ of the clones backed up, he was the last one left and there Kaguya stood in front of him. He was tired and didn't have enough to go on much longer. He was out of options.

He then used his left hand to rip off his right arm. "Back off! I'm armed, with an arm!"

Kaguya paid him no attention other than enough to send an All Killing Ash Bone into the clone's forehead, turning him to ash.

Before she could react, the ground rocked with tremors. Energy surged through the air.

" **Mother. If I didn't know better I'd say that was the Juubi."**

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ stood up, Sasuke waking up and doing the same.

Naruto's flesh had become a pale grey. His forehead had sprouted two horns. His hair merely grew wilder.

While Naruto and Sasuke each had nine Truth-Seeking Balls floating behind them, Naruto had a tenth at the back of his right hand. Sasuke, instead, had one of his eyes in the form of a six magatama Rinnegan. Naruto's eyes each had a Rinnegan with the form of his Mangekyo Sharingan sitting within the innermost ring of his eyes.

"What now?" Takizawa asked.

Naruto took Shino's body and laid it in front of him.

"I have prepared for this day to degrees no one could have comprehended. So let my cards at last fall," he said as he took a large scroll and opened it.

It suddenly opened to reveal hundreds of sealing arrays. From each array extended another scroll and even more seals. Thousands of bodies rested on the scrolls as they stopped expanding.

He flashed a hand sign and glowed with chakra. "I have no room for error here. None. And therefore, I must discard all self-doubt and all self-hope."

Three flashes of light signaled three of Naruto's Shadow Clones appearing next to him.

Kichigai's eyes widened. "Naruto, those are your lifelines. Your bodies! You can't use them now."

"I have no choice. I have to do things right."

His clones formed the same hand sign he was holding and spoke as he spoke. "It took me a very long time to gather all of these criminals and bodies! Edo Tensei!"

Each body glowed as a massive array spread across miles in every direction. The seals swallowed Shino, and as everything finished, so too did every single body and dead person over the warzone.

He readied every person who he had just gathered and each person that he already had within his purview.

Orochimaru expressed his sentiments from before to Naruto on using his friend with that jutsu, but he was ignored.

Thousands of coffins sprouted from the ground and just as suddenly opened to reveal just as many reanimated shinobi. Even the old ones he already had were there, the entire Uchiha clan and so many others.

As each one stood there, reanimated Uzu shinobi, old enemies, and others. Even Jiraiya and Tsunade stood not too far away, though they were clearly not given free will.

Shino and Hinata stood at Naruto's sides. The moment the cracks along their bodies sealed over, they came to their consciousness. They looked around and slowly realized what was happening.

"N-Naruto?" Hinata asked.

"Hey, Hinata," Naruto said with a sad smile. "It's good to see you again."

"So I died on the battlefield? And you brought me back like this?" Shino asked.

"That is correct," Naruto said.

"Have you finally revealed-"

"Yes, I have," Naruto said, turning towards everyone.

"Father," Kureo said. "What would you have us do?"

Kagari nodded, hoping to play a role in his father's grand design.

Naruto smirked at them both. "The part I have for you applies to many. I hope you don't mind cramped spaces because the next part of my plan calls for something more than what I am now. Orochimaru, I leave Tsunade and Jiraiya under yours and Kabuto's command. Sasuke, you will be fighting as I direct you. Everyone else..."

Naruto lifted his shirt and his seal glowed. The black lines formed chains that shot out and quickly wrapped around most everyone on the field. Shino, Kureo, Anko, Kagari, and Hinata were wrapped in the chains also, but the one's Naruto had named along with Takizawa and Kichigai were left untouched.

The seal suddenly turned into a writhing vortex as the chains started to retract.

"What's going on Naruto?" Hinata asked.

Naruto smirked. "We are going to battle much more powerful than we ever are apart."

Light flashed and the area was instantly as desolate as it was before. The others turned to Naruto as he groaned in pain and doubled over. He spat out blood.

"Are you alright boy?" Orochimaru asked?

Naruto's voice sounded as though others were overlapping it as he spoke. "Never felt better. I know what I need to do."

A rip in space opened up in front of the small group, Kaguya emerging from it.

Sasuke stepped in, standing between her and Naruto. "Whatever it is you need to do, you had better do quickly then."

Naruto nodded. "Buy me time, just a little more. All of you. I'll return soon to finish this."

He disappeared in a flash, reappearing at the roots of the new Shinju. His hands rested on the bark and it felt as though the tree itself was vibrating, humming with life. And with a simple mental command, he merged with the roots.

* * *

 _ **Kaguya**_ tried to jump through space again to fallow Naruto, however, a massive black sword in the shape of a double helix stood between her and the portal she had opened. Sasuke held the sword aloft, ready to fight her.

" **You think you can stop mother, boy?"** Black Zetsu asked.

"If I can't, the least I can do is stall you two," Sasuke said. His Susanoo formed around him, an ethereal fist coming down to crush her.

She merely sidestepped it before flying a few feet into the air. The ground suddenly changed into magma as they were transported to a new dimension. They were clearly in some sort of cavern that flowed with the boiling rock.

Most were able to move in time to cling to the walls of stone, but Tsunade's zombie form was incapable of escaping and, despite any regeneration, there might have been, sank and was swallowed up.

" **You persist too long after your own defeat. Come then, warrior, and have your resolution."**

Orochimaru sent a barrage of Kunai flying at Kaguya, happy to see Tsunade go, but unhappy that he hadn't been the one to do it either time. A snake flew from his sleeve and bit Kaguya's wrist as she deflected the blades.

Black Zetsu chuckled before destroying the snake and getting rid of it.

Kichigai used a Fuuton jutsu to cool and solidify a large area of magma, running along the new surface towards the woman. "Yes! I've never felt more alive! Let every dimension you take us through intensify my meaning!"

He leaped into the air and tried to deliver a spinning kick to Kaguya's head. He was blocked by her forearm. She tried to swat him away but he twisted around and planted the bottom of his other foot into her sternum.

The momentum sent him away but left Kaguya slightly stunned. Jiraiya was above her in an instant, Rasengan in hand. The sphere was shoved into her head but was absorbed before any damage was done.

Bones shot from Kaguya's back and impaled the zombie in multiple areas before his body was turned to ash and blew away in the heated convection wind produced by the lava.

Takizawa, standing in one of the hands of Sasuke's Susanoo looked on in sadness before leaping forward. His sword impaled Kaguya through the shoulder before he himself was stabbed in the stomach by an Ash Bone. Where others would have turned to dust, the chakra didn't affect his body.

Kaguya let out a gasp of surprise when Takizawa punched her in the face. "Why must these apparitions torment me now in such a way?" Kaguya asked herself. Her face wrinkled in anger and hatred for her own mind's deception.

Suddenly the world changed again, everyone miles in the air above a desert wasteland where the ground was in the form of small pyramids. The only one not instantly falling was Kaguya, but the harsh difference in normal gravity and that of this world had her slowly falling as well. A portal took her to the ground where she strained to keep standing as the others fell.

Sasuke's Susanoo formed and its armor wrapped everyone up to protect them, though they had to brace for the jarring landing as the Susanoo hit the ground. Even the ethereal warrior was having trouble picking itself up off the ground. The strain forced Sasuke to disperse of the construct and let everyone fall to the ground themselves.

Though Kaguya struggled, she held up her hand and sent a bone spear flying at Kichigai.

Sasuke used his Susanoo to wield his double helix blade and block the spear. Regardless of the strain on his body and eyes, he reformed the armored level of his Susanoo and charged Kaguya with the sword.

Massive bones formed from her hands and blocked the sword, each trying to turn the other object to dust but neither taking effect. Sasuke's Truth-Seeking Balls moved forward and fired off at Kaguya. She disengaged from their crossing swords and managed to backstep if only slightly, to keep out of the line of fire as the spheres hit the ground.

A single Truth-Seeking Ball formed in each of her hands, one turning into her own Sword of Nunoboko and the other taking the form of a disk-shaped shield that floated behind her hand.

Their swords clashed but the Susanoo's other fist crashed towards her. She used the shield to block the fist. They were instantly at a stalemate before Orochimaru came running at her from the side.

Of course, he could. He didn't feel pain and didn't care that his muscles tore themselves apart to keep him moving.

She realized that if she didn't move quickly she was going to get hit again eventually. She opened a portal, ready to abandon them there until later as she disengaged and left.

Sasuke locked eyes on the portal as she passed through. His Rinnegan's ability to transport objects and people forcing the portal to stay open.

"Move! Everyone follow her!" Sasuke shouted, keeping it open long enough for them to go through and then transporting himself through.

* * *

 _ **They**_ moved through another portal. What greeted Sasuke on the other side was their own world again but with Kaguya keeping Takizawa pinned to the ground with her bones and nearly killing Kichigai. He used a Substitution jutsu to replace himself with a stone between the two, forming a shield from one of his Truth-Seeking Balls and blocking Kaguya's attack.

He brought the Sword of Nunoboko down on her. She dodged to the side and tried stabbing a sword of bone into his side. Orochimaru redirected her arm with a swarm of snakes. She got rid of them and shot into the air, sending down a barrage of Ash Bones on them.

Sasuke let the fires of his Susanoo form to protect everyone.

Realizing it was going to take more than what she was giving she sent hundreds flying at a single spot. The armor began to crack but Sasuke reinforced it with his Truth-Seeking Balls.

Kichigai ran to the side, out from under cover, and jumped into the air. He formed the hand signs for a Katon jutsu before sending a fireball at Kaguya. She stopped sending bones and blocked the fire, absorbing it and healing any wounds she had obtained thus far.

She then moved her arm and readied a bone to kill Kichigai.

Sasuke saw it coming and ran forward, his Susanoo trying to move also and protect Kichigai. But the being of light refused to move fast enough. He put all of his chakra into his legs and burst forward. Out from under the cover of his Susanoo. The bone fired as Sasuke broke ground and shot into the air.

Things slowed down as the bone approached Kichigai's head.

' _Naruto. I once tried to do right by you for having saved me from the darkness. I tried to protect our home and wound up blind to the truth even after everything else. I know I haven't always made the right decisions up to now...'_

He grabbed Kichigai's shoulder in a tight grip. _'Whether I was right, or whether I was wrong, may not even matter in the first place. However, running up against my sins like this— all of the choices I've made up to this point- today,'_

He pulled Kichigai back towards the ground, placing himself in the way. _'being able to die for someone- is something I'm glad for...'_

The bone impaled his shoulder, turning the arm itself and Sasuke's shoulder into ash. Even some of his ribs were gone, exposing his insides as he fell back towards the ground.

He landed on his feet but stepped back to maintain balance.

"Sasuke, are you a moron? That was meant for me you bastard!" Kichigai shouted, running up to him.

Sasuke gripped the space where his shoulder once was. His Susanoo formed, one arm gripping the missing area to keep it closed and minimize blood loss, though blood still pored between the fingers. The other arm formed with the sword in its hand and tried to stab Kaguya.

She created a portal and disappeared, reappearing behind Sasuke and ready to stab him.

Her hand was stopped, the piercing bone only an inch from Sasuke's chest. There was something going on inside the tree. She turned and rushed that way. Orochimaru and Takizawa rushed after her, leaving Kichigai to look at Sasuke.

"Go," Sasuke said. "I'll be fine. Just don't let her stop whatever it is that Naruto is doing."

Kichigai nodded. "Thank you for saving my life. If you die before we return, I wish you luck in the next coil."

And then Kichigai too was gone after Kaguya.

As Sasuke sat down on the ground, he heard rocks cracking and moving to accommodate something.

"You are glad to die for someone else? Do you feel it redeems you? We shall see," Naruto's voice said.

Sasuke turned his head to see two Narutos. The clones he had had before to help fuel his Edo Tensei.

Sasuke smiled. "Here to see me off?"

The clones sat down. "We did it," one said.

"We did?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes. We did."

Sasuke's blood loss had made him less diligent, and more tired. But regardless, a part of him knew, no matter how much he wanted to believe it, that Naruto was full of shit.

He smiled anyway. "We did it."

The sun was setting in the distance. "It's quite a view," Sasuke said.

The clones nodded. "Best seats in the house." one said.

Sasuke sighed. "You ever wonder how things would've been different? How our lives would be different if this and everything else...hadn't happened?"

"Sure," the other clone said.

"I know you really never started with a family and I did, but now, the family that matters. I never had one, Naruto. Never had children. Never left something to endure my passing. Not like you've built."

"There will be time enough for that now."

Sasuke chuckled but groaned in pain. "I-I think that ship has sailed. What about you? Certainly, you've thought about settling down when this is all over."

A clone nodded. "Yeah. I like the sound of that. Not sure I'd be much good at it, though."

"Sure you would. I think you would make a great father, old friend."

A clone gave a suppressed laugh and an 'uh-huh' sound.

"I'm serious," Sasuke said, sounding more tired with each passing moment. "Think of how proud your kids would be, telling everyone that their dad is _the_ Uzukage, Naruto Uzumaki."

"I don't know about that." There was a pause. "Not _everything_ I've done is something to be proud of."

His mind wandered to Kichigai when he was first there and the people he had tortured.

Sasuke sighed. "God. It feels like years since I just sat down."

"I think you've earned a rest. Sasuke?" a clone said and asked as Sasuke's head lolled to the side. At his name, he picked his head up as if being woken suddenly from a doze.

"I'm awake," he said.

The clones knew he wouldn't be much longer, but with everything else, they couldn't just make it grim for him. "Stay with me," one said. "We're almost through this."

Sasuke almost laughed. "Don't pity me. I'm happy I no longer have to pretend."

"What do you mean?"

"I was dead when I stepped onto the battlefield. Whether it was Kaguya or you. You wouldn't have let me return to exile. The moment this was over you'd have killed me yourself. I'm just happy I don't have to pretend anymore.

"Pretend what?"

"That I'm not here to die." There was another pause. "You did good, Naruto. You did good," Sasuke said, almost in a whisper he was so tired. "No matter what you've done that you might not be proud of, I'm proud to have called you my friend. Even if it was so long ago." His head then hung as if he was asleep again.

"Thanks, friend." a clone said before looking at Sasuke. "Sasuke?" he asked.

He was dead, the rest of the body quickly being effected by the Ash Bones and crumbling away.

One clone looked at the other and they nodded. They needed to prepare. There wasn't much time.

* * *

 _ **Kaguya**_ slipped inside the tree, entering a new world devoid of creation but being creation itself. The Infinite Tsukuyomi. As she entered, trying to find the one who had entered before, somehow holding the power of the Juubi, she could have sworn she felt something leave her, but she gave it no thought. Realizing that the one she sought was trapped in a dream, she turned her attention to the only one that had fallowed her that wasn't.

* * *

 _ **Orochimaru**_ stood in a white void. He had fallowed Kaguya and Takizawa into the tree, and he was sure Kabuto and Kichigai had fallowed him also. But he was alone. He looked around and saw what he almost described as the afterimages of millions of people.

"What is this? What in the world is happening?" He took on a shocked look. "It can't be."

"But it is," Kaguya said as she walked up beside him. "It is exactly as you suspect. The Infinite Tsukuyomi can not work from nothing. It traps their minds within extradimensional space. Trapped in a series of universes that are created instant to instant as they are perceived."

" **A labyrinth in which conscious beings are trapped within the infinite series of alternate dimensions created by their own past experiences and preferences. As long as they have intelligence and chakra, they will never be able to break free,"** Black Zetsu added.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ sat beneath the tree, Shino and Hinata at his sides, and Anko standing at Shino's side. They passed around some snacks as they watched the sun set over Uzushio. They had lived peacefully within the village for so long. Peace had reined under the village and the unity it had long ago brought to the world. It was time for the celebration. Two and a half decades this peace had survived.

He looked over as Obito crested the hill, a bag of steaks over his shoulder. Itachi was right behind him, pulling the grill.

Some of the others had shown up not so long ago and everyone was preparing for the party. The Crest Gun was in the distance, loaded to the brim with thousands of fireworks. The Bahamut Sky Fortress could be seen in the distance, lights of various colors flashing in the windows as the people who still had to man it were throwing their own party. They had taken a week to set up the lighting and music.

Naruto saw it as this great and beautiful thing. Even Kurama, his orange fur practically glowing in the sun, was laying down nearby and smirking as he talked with some and laughing at a joke someone told him.

Naruto looked over at Kurama and how he sounded. He was happy. They all were. What they had built had been built to last. And so it had. But as he turned back and looked at the sunset, he almost felt like something wasn't right.

This was all RIGHT, but it was off. Like a haze blocked what had once been. Not that he was unhappy about that. He loved this. He was surrounded by friends, with great food and a good time to celebrate this. To celebrate everything they had ever wanted.

Shrimp, steak, chicken, corn, potatoes, ramen, and a myriad of other foods permeated the air with their smells of being cooked and made.

The sunset. It was so beautiful.

But he had been thinking about something else, hadn't he? Something felt off. As right as everything was with the world, it wasn't quite so. The air was a degree off. Not wrong, off. It was too perfect. Ideal. It was a day one could only dream of. But here it was. Wasn't it? And it was beautiful.

He looked over and saw his friends talking and laughing. He smiled. Hinata gestured for him to come over and join the group, to laugh, to talk, to get some food, to celebrate with everyone. And he stood up to join them. Bliss was right there within his grasp. But as he strode over, about to step out from under the tree, a hand laid on his shoulder. And another on his other shoulder.

He turned and saw Hinata and Shino standing behind him. And unlike the ones who were eating and enjoying themselves, they had battle gear still on. They had smiles, sad ones rather than happy. But their eyes showed happiness. They were not relaxing or celebrating. They were still ready for war.

And he understood; understood what he should have from the start.

"Don't forget, Naruto," Shino said. "You're the method to our madness. You can't stop here or we stop with you. You are the one that makes all of our big talk more than words," he said with a smile.

Hinata walked over to him and place her hand on his chest. "Your soul is right here, along with all of ours. You can't keep wasting time here forever. You can't forget what you still have to do."

Naruto nodded and everyone around them, Kurama, Obito, the other Shino and Hinata, they were all gone. So was the Crest Gun and the Bahamut.

"Let's get going, Naruto," Hinata said, embracing him.

"Just don't get distracted by the what-ifs, should-haves, and if-onlys. The one thing that you choose for yourself, that is the truth of your world," Shino said.

"Yeah, you're right," Naruto said. "You're exactly right."

"And it's not just us," Hinata said.

"It's the rest of us too," Shino said, turning to see an army people wearing the Uzu symbol standing behind them. Hiruzen, Naruto's parents, and even the other Jinchuriki stood there also, having been absorbed when his Edo Tensei seal had spread across the ground.

"Well then, we better get going," Naruto said.

"Yeah," Hinata nodded.

He turned back as they all turned into light and entered his chest. He raised his fist into the air as his old combat armor formed over him and he returned to his normal age. Every change that had occurred reformed so he was as he truly should have been, wiping the dream away entirely.

And then even the field was gone. The hill. The tree. It was all gone.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ walked within the tree, having entered the dream world of the Infinite Tsukuyomi but freeing himself of the shackles it put on him. He could feel every pulsing vein of the tree around him. The power of every human being on earth flowing through the air.

He could see every person, or more accurately, feel. Their desires were at his fingertips. It was time to set them all free. Each and every desire. Every life, soul, and heart. It was time.

* * *

 _ **Sasori**_ and Deidara stood within their art studio. Though they had always argued about whose was true art, they had long since decided to agree to disagree. They had worked side by side to create one of the most beloved art studios in the world.

Deidara stood in front of a large clay sculpture, looking at it quizzically as he was covered in clay himself from his work.

Sasori was working on painting a new puppet he was working on, equally quizzical as he chewed the end of a brush and was covered in as much paint as Deidara was clay.

They looked at each other for a moment and laughed.

There was a knock on the door before an oddly familiar man walked in. He wore a strange robe and carried himself like a leader. Almost like someone they should know. And it began clearing the cobwebs from their minds.

"I'd like to buy your art," Naruto said. "And I'd be honored if you two artists could come work alongside me."

Sasori smiled as he became fully aware. "I'd have it no other way, Lord Uzukage."

Deidara was about to ask what was going on before he too understood and gave a grin. "Sign me up and lead the way, Naruto. We have enemies to blow up and turn into art."

"I was hoping you would say that."

They too turned to light and joined Naruto as he shot into the sky as a streak of light.

* * *

 _ **Mei**_ Terumi stood at her wedding, finally about to have a man for herself. But before the ceremony could finish, someone tapped her on the shoulder. Who would dare interrupt the most important day of her life?

She turned and was suddenly looking into a television screen showing her in a red dress and winning an award. It changed to her being named the Mizukage. Then to her at a peace summit with the other Kage all getting along and discussing trade. And then again to depict a man standing there telling her how beautiful she looked in her dress, about to marry her.

And then the screen turned black, her own hand having turned it off. She stood up straight and saw Yagura standing there, holding the television.

"Thank you," she said. She flipped a kunai into her hand. "Well, I'm off then."

Yagura smiled and looked into the sky where a golden light was moving through the sky. She was now standing on top of the Mizukage tower and dressed ready for battle.

She turned into light and shot into the air, flying towards the light in the sky.

* * *

 _ **Obito**_ stood dressed as the Hokage with Kakashi and Rin at his side and was looking out the window of his office. He saw the light and knew what it meant before he himself was a light flying through the air.

* * *

 _ **Anko**_ stood at the front of a classroom full of 'brats' but her attention was brought to the window. She remembered why she was here. There was no time to waste on pretty dreams. She had to help her friends. And then she was gone.

* * *

 _ **Temari**_ stood behind a stove, working in a restaurant before placing plates of food down in front of her brothers and parents. But when the real Garra laid a hand on her shoulder she knew that this wasn't meant to last. Things always needed to change. And now they would. And she was gone.

* * *

 _ **Akira**_ stood in his home, sitting on a couch with his sister and parents. None of them having ever died, their life still together. His father teaching him the ways of the dragon contract, his mother teaching him how to control the black chakra that came from their blood.

He looked over to his sister as she read a book and thought that nothing could be better than this. But like all dreams, his too ended when a golden light shown through the windows and his mind was clear.

"Goodbye. I love you, mother and father. I will see you again someday."

* * *

 _ **Kakazu**_ knelt in a field, a little girl in front of him and placing a crown of flowers on his head. "Here daddy." She said.

He picked her up and spun her around as he stood. She giggled in glee and he smiled in pure happiness. But when he stopped spinning he turned towards his wife. She was so beautiful in his eyes. She had a happy but sad look as she looked at him and then towards the sky.

He too looked up and saw the light streaking through the air. He set his daughter down and she ran towards her mother.

"Now I get it," he said as his body became stitched and his clothes changed back to what they usually were, as he turned back to normal.

"And I was having such a sappy dream too," he said, taking one last look at his daughter standing with his wife. He gave a sad smile before shooting into the air.

* * *

 _ **Konan**_ , Nagato, and Yahiko stood there, looking out over Ame, the Akatsuki as it was meant to be standing before them, ready to protect. They had achieved their dream.

"I'm truly sorry to interrupt, my fellow Uzumaki," a voice said. "But there are some matters that would benefit from your attention."

Nagato turned around and saw Naruto standing there.

* * *

 _ **Orochimaru**_ looked around and, though it was minuscule, picked up on something interesting. He gave a knowing smirk and chuckled.

" **Why are you laughing?"**

"Oh, it's nothing really. I'm sure you already know and it's part of your plan."

"Tell us," Kaguya said.

"Oh alright. Well, here I am, which means that the Infinite Tsukuyomi definitely doesn't affect Edo Tensei zombies. Yet that boy brought hundreds of them in with him. And here I stand able to interact to some degree with this world. So what happens if those zombies start waking people up?"

Kaguya's face turned to one of shock and fear as the entire world within the tree began to glow. Everything trembled.

Orochimaru snickered. "That boy. As annoying as he was, he never ceases to amaze." And then he too was swallowed by the light.

Kaguya left the space of the tree and shot into the sky, sending an arm upwards to ready a massive Truth-Seeking Ball in preparation for whatever was coming.

She looked and saw that while bodies still hung from the tree, they glowed with the same light as before. She felt the same supply of chakra she had always been receiving but it seemed less, as though she was not the only one being supplied. And then, what had been coming for her emerged from the bark of the tree.

It glowed at first while different voices spoke one at a time.

"We become one."

"With our minds."

"Our hopes."

"Our hearts."

"Our dreams."

"Our strength."

"Our art!" an unusually obnoxious voice rang out.

And then it all took form in one glowing body.

The creature was amazing to behold. Pristinely white hair flowing in the wind, long enough to normally have several feet dragging on the ground. Its hands, attached to long arms and with long claws, were engraved with seals unmistakable as Naruto's Hiraishin formula. Five unusually large Truth-Seeking Balls floated behind it with two floating around its left hand. The other hand held Naruto's black and green blade.

Horns sprouted from its forehead while its eyes looked as Kurama's new Rinne-Sharingan had. Its clothes were part of its skin with black pants and no shirt. But its cloak was Naruto's, now as pure white as his skin on one side but the black side discolored and grey from the changes to his skin. Even the other symbols were present as dulled engravings in the skin. But the text that had once read 'Shodaime Uzukage' was gone. It was now replaced with new symbols that represented all of the tailed beasts.

The new creature had these possessions of Naruto's, but his features were smoother. Different. A new face but clearly seemed male. Perhaps because that was the host body's traits maintaining dominance. Tails, Kaurama's new tails, swished from under his cloak as he stood there.

His mouth opened to speak, an overlapping voice of different forms emerging. **"Now then, look upon my work, ye mighty, and despair."**

His eyes locked on Kaguya just before she threw her large Truth-Seeking Ball down at Him. He sent a single Truth-Seeking Ball at her own, each canceling each other out in an explosion. His own quickly reappeared behind him but there was little time to notice this fact as he opened his mouth again, light emanating from inside.

" **DESTINY DESTROYER!"**

A molten sphere fired from his mouth, expanding instantly and launching at Kaguya. It shot through the smoke that still hung in the air. Without time to dodge it, and shocked as it came suddenly from within the darkened air, she opened a portal in front of herself, making it appear somewhere in the distance where it shook the earth.

He shot forward, grabbing her by the neck and spinning, sending her back towards the ground. He followed her, driving a fist into her stomach but not doing much as she pulled her knee up into Naruto's face. Before either could correct themselves, they crashed into the ground. While Kaguya bounced back and righted herself, landing on her feet, Naruto rolled around on the ground for several feet before landing on his hands and feet.

His jaw let out a snarl before disappearing in a flash and reappearing behind Kaguya. He delivered a burst of punches into her back, disappearing again as she turned towards him. He reappeared in front of her, upper-cutting her jaw and sending her back momentarily. He disappeared again, reappearing and disappearing in a burst of appearances all around her.

The moment he reappeared next to her again, he was almost impaled as her body exploded with bones, turning herself into a human pincushion and trap for Naruto to run right into. One was barely any visible distance from his eye, his eyelids closing on it when he blinked. He backed up and formed a hand sign, two rock walls forming on either of Kaguya's sides and then closing on her. It kept her held for only a moment before she shot out the top with an explosion of stones, the bone protrusions having retracted or fallen off.

Naruto growled a moment before a shroud of Chakra enveloped him. It quickly took on Kurama's form but more humanoid, with two eyes, and a presence that gave off more than one signature. Not only that, but its size easily rivaled that of the Juubi.

Kaguya again formed the Sword of Nunoboko and flew towards the construct, stabbing it through the forehead. He yelled and thrashed, giving Kaguya time to form several small Truth-Seeking Balls and send them flying inside its gaping maw.

As they exploded, he gave off no reaction other than to shout two words. **"DESTINY DESTROYER!"**

The attack sent Kaguya back as she tried to avoid it. While succeeding with the first, the second sphere hit her dead on and created a blinding light.

Once her vision was restored, Kaguya was again floating there before the massive monster. Her form began to swell before she had entirely transformed into the Juubi.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ stood within his mindscape, somehow easily directing this new form with only a portion of his attention. Most of it was here as he walked down the corridors that housed the millions of people who had made up this power.

Though he wanted to attribute it to time moving more slowly in here. To him, the fight had only just begun with the two Truth-Seeking Balls colliding.

He stepped to the side and opened a door. He had so many people to talk too and so little time.

Walking over to a table, he sat down with Hinata, Anko, and Shino there.

"So, was this your plan all along, Naruto?" Shino asked.

"It has been for a while," Naruto replied. "But not always. I realized during the Kage summit that some things can't be solved with logic, much as I wish it weren't true. Sometimes you need to find some way to make yourself the strongest person on the field. Sometimes it's the only way to solve a problem."

"But how did you do all this? It seems almost a little impossible." Hinata asked.

Naruto chuckled. "Yeah, but the fun stuff is always impossible. By the time your enemies realize what you're doing isn't physically possible, they are already twelve kinds of dead." He then sighed. "But the concept is actually more realistic and logical the more you think about it. Objects and people can be sealed into sealing arrays as well as Bijuu. And you can access the chakra of Bijuu that are sealed inside of yourself. So it's really just a matter of applying the same principle to people being sealed inside of other people. And much how jinchuriki gain attributes and abilities from their tenants, I had no doubt I could do the same from every single person within this seal. My gamble paid off."

* * *

 _ **Naruto's**_ new form drove a fist towards Kaguya's eye but the fist itself was caught by one of her hands. He stepped back and hunched over before his back ripped open.

" **FULL-SCALE BLACK RAIN!"**

Hundreds of metallic shells, glowing with energy, fired into the air and came back down in a full-scale bombardment. Each explosion brought a roar from Kaguya.

He then moved back into a standing position and got into a particular stance. Veins bulged around his eyes as he charged back in and used two fingers to jab Kaguya in the chest.

* * *

 _ **"So**_ even in this form you can use the Byakugan like the Hyuuga in the seal?" Hinata asked.

"Yes. This form is stable but volatile. Any energy it releases is intense, Bijuu form, or human. But I know nothing of its limitations or if it even has any. All I can tell you is that if it does have any, we are nowhere near them."

* * *

 _ **Kaguya's**_ form roared in pain from the jab but didn't let it deter her from mounting a counter-attack. She wrapped an arm around his and flipped him over her head, instantly reshaping the land as his body crashed into the ground.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ had spent several minutes talking with Hinata, Shino, and Anko before apologizing and leaving the room. He had so many other people to speak with.

He opened a door and entered in, Orochimaru sitting in the middle.

"I wondered when you would be paying me a visit, child," Orochimaru said.

"You've been expecting me?"

"'We become one.' I believe that 'with our minds' was a part of that."

"If that were entirely true I wouldn't need to be here and speak with you."

"No, but I understood one of your desires was to speak with most of the people you had absorbed. So what is it you want to speak with me about?"

Naruto stared him down. "I've looked through some of your memories, recent ones anyway. One of the benefits of being the host I suppose. Or perhaps that and having been the one to reanimate you. Who knows? What I do know is that you expressed quite the sentiment to Anko about reanimating friends and Kabuto about him not being controlled and choosing his own path."

"I'm a twisted man that uses people for my own ambitions, but even I have morals, strange as they may be."

Naruto hummed in thought. "Given a second go-around but with the same memories, given a new chance, what would you do?"

"What are you playing at boy?"

"Just answer the question."

"I'm really not sure. Probably continue my experiments and proceed in my quest to learn every jutsu."

"What about your bid for immortality?"

"Merely a means to an end. To obtain every jutsu. Being dead shows me just how overrated being immortal is. It gives me a different perspective."

"Interesting."

"Why are you asking these questions, boy?"

"Tell me, what if I gave you a new lease on life?"

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ slid back after blocking a blow from Kaguya. It was a simple exchange of blows that just went back and forth with no one gaining an advantage. He reabsorbed his Biju form and crashed into the ground. He rapidly moved over the ground and began running up Kaguya's body.

A Truth-Seeking Ball formed into a buzzsaw-like shape and ripped into the beast's flesh as he ran up her body. Her hands came down, trying to crush him like a fly. He was almost impossibly quickly up to her head and about to ram a new Truth-Seeking Ball into her.

Before it could make contact, the eye and the entire Juubi form disappeared as Kaguya also reverted to her human form. She launched an Ash Bone at him, about to impale him in the belly. He took advantage of Orochimaru's abilities and discarded his old body as it was impaled.

* * *

 _ **"Obito.**_ What are your thoughts on all of this?" Naruto asked.

"I think it escalated very quickly. It's out of hand," Obito said. "But it's also a fitting end to all of this. It's almost like she's fighting herself. You two are almost equally matched, fueled by all the chakra in the world. But you have so much more at your disposal. However, you may have the Hairaishin, but she also has the ability to open those portals. It's anyone's game."

* * *

 _ **Kaguya**_ used her Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack, but she was dodged every time. But the same was said as Naruto's fists became consumed in blue fires that took the shapes of lion heads. He charged in, swinging and missing with each blow.

Each attack the two threw spoke volumes of their devastation with the sonic booms from every punch Naruto gave to the ground breaking any time one of Kaguya's attacks hit the earth.

Naruto then redirected one of his attacks, letting his fist unclench and hit Kaguya in the sternum as just a palm. He then curled his fingers and pushed forward. He forced her skin and clothes inward as he made a handhold out of her sternum.

She almost screamed in pain at this, but she wasn't given the time as he used this hold to spin and then throw her into a nearby rock jutting out of the ground.

" **The field is no longer smooth or even. Neither this on which we fight or the playing field."**

Kaguya was standing again before disappearing through a portal that Naruto quickly followed her through. On the other side was a rocky and mountainous world. It was Kaguya's core dimension.

Naruto saw Kaguya not far away but putting distance between them. She was gathering chakra from the Infinite Tsukuyomi and he could tell she was feeling better every second. He burst forward, the ground breaking under his movements and tearing up to accommodate his momentum.

Kaguya turned around, a Truth-Seeking Ball in her hand. It formed a shield that Naruto almost crashed into, jumping into the air and over her instead.

As Kaguya turned around to face him, he held out his arms, his skin flaking into thousands of pieces from the top few layers, but not diminishing in any way from what was there. The flakes folded and morphed into millions of insectoid creatures and swarmed Kaguya.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ sat down at a bar that someone had taken the time to form in the mindscape. It was full of Uzu shinobi, many of whom had originally been from Oto. He was quickly surrounded by Tayuya, Jirobo, Kidomaro, Sakon, Ukon, Jugo, and Kimimaru.

One of them passed him a drink. He laughed and swirled it around in the glass.

"So are we just drinking my subconscious? Everyone's? What's going on here?" he asked.

They all laughed. None of them really knew, but it was still fun. A lot of them were looking up at a screen, seeing Naruto and Kaguya fighting.

"So what's the master plan? Tayuya asked. "Take out this bitch and live happily ever after?"

"Language, Tayuya," Jirobo said with a smirk.

Tayuya laughed mirthfully. "Shut up, fatso."

Naruto laughed along with the rest of them. "Yeah, that's pretty much the plan. I don't need to remind any of you what it took to get this far, but I hope you all enjoy it."

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ landed a punch to Kaguya's face, but in response, a Truth Seaking Ball exploded in his own face. The smoke cleared, Naruto standing nearby with only a few scratches and some heavy breathing to show for Kaguya's attack. While she was of the same, the influx of chakra was quickly healing her.

He began pooling a large quantity of chakra into his hands, Kurama's chakra that surged to life at his will. It formed in a single sphere in his hands that rapidly condensed to the size of a marble. Before moving at all, three images of himself pulled themselves out of his back as clones.

Each rushed at her, but only the real one had the energy of a boiling sun in their hands. One tried to punch her in the face while another charged her from behind. She managed to dodge both attacks but was taken by surprise when the third rammed his horns into her belly.

As the real one moved in, ready to hit her with his unleashed power, the clones disappeared. He then shoved his palms into her chest, fusing the power with her body.

The resulting explosion of energy flattened the surrounding miles of the dimension.

As the dust settled, Naruto looked on with curiosity as Kaguya's somewhat mangled body sat a few feet away. But it wasn't dead. She moved and stood before her body suddenly swelled and expanded. He turned and took off as she rapidly turned into a monstrous and rabbit-like amalgamation of the other tailed beasts.

Naruto planted his feet on the ground, spun around, reared back, and brought his fist down to the ground. The ground caved in before shooting back up in jagged pillars that shot in a line towards Kaguya, tearing through much of her mass.

Though she released a roar of pain, she easily destroyed the rocks and started sending fists and tails to try and destroy him. He was easily able to leap out of the way and avoid her attacks. One came down he couldn't avoid, instead, punching up into the tail and sending a shockwave through the appendage.

They were still at a stalemate, something Naruto could no longer stand. He could go on for days in this stalemate without getting tired, but he didn't want to. He refused to. And his plan was put into place.

* * *

 _ **"Deidara,**_ what are the limitations for your explosive clay?" Naruto asked.

"What do you mean, Uzukage my man?" Deidara asked.

"I mean, what's the biggest explosion you've ever made, and can I make one bigger."

Deidara smirked. "Naruto my man, I like the way you think."

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ backed up before flashing through several hand signs. **"SUITON: GREAT EXPLODING WATER COLLIDING WAVE!"**

The crashing waves were not directed towards Kaguya herself, but seemed to crash harshly against the ground itself on purpose.

" **SUITONl UZUMAKI DESTRUCTION!"**

The tides turned rapidly and started digging into the ground, churning up the ground and making it soft under the force. Naruto dove into the water and sank to the bottom, shoving his hands into what had now become dirt and soil beneath the waves.

His palms ripped open and began absorbing the soil and clay, even taking in some of the water around him.

* * *

 _ **Takizawa**_ stood in a clearing at the roots of the Shinju. He put down a tea cup and looked up at it.

"So what will you do now that your heart is no longer inside Kaguya, but rather, within your own body?"

There was a pulse through one of the vines to his head.

"Yes, that is as you have always done." He sighed. "I'm so sorry. The mistake I made so long ago caused all of this. I should have listened to you from the start."

A pulse.

"You always were too forgiving of me. I was your servant and I asked the ultimate thing of you. I should have listened to you. But this time around, I'm going to set things right. That's why, as much as I want to serve you for the rest of eternity, I have to go to my wife. I must stop her."

Pulse.

He smiled. "You always were so understanding.

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ felt his body swelling and becoming full of the material he was taking in through his hands. He removed himself from the ground, a crater in the area where he had been draining the ground. He shot upwards and into the air, wondering why Kaguya had yet to mount any kind of attack up to now.

She was still floating in the air but was removing herself from her monster form, her previous form leaving behind a massive Truth-Seeking Ball.

Naruto held out his own hands and began spewing out explosive clay, willing it to take form before him. It shifted at first to the form of a snake, and then a large but deformed animal, then a bird, and finally stopping at the form of an incredible dragon.

* * *

 _ **The**_ size of it was more than anything Deidara had ever seen. He was jumping in glee and shouting in excitement. "This art will be glorious! It's going to be amazing! Shine brightly and obliterate that bitch with art my man! Yeah!"

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ was bursting through the air, flying towards the destruction and creation that Kaguya was getting ready to use against him. The moment he made contact with it he activated one of the paths of his Rinnegan and began draining the chakra from it.

He gave a simple mental command and the clay dragon came crashing into Kaguya, snapping its jaws shut around her and flying a distance away. Bone speared through the dragon from inside in a bid to escape, but it did nothing to help as it suddenly coiled around itself and began to glow.

The explosion shook the area, forcing Naruto to shield his eyes.

" **That should buy some time, not a cheap commodity to say the least."**

He continued to drain chakra from the sphere but reared back as a bone went flying past him. He looked over to see Kaguya holding out her hands, small pieces of bones sticking out of the tips.

" **Help me out Kimimaro."**

He kept one hand on the sphere while the other formed a shield of bones that deflected the bullets flying from Kaguya's fingertips.

As he found a break in the fire, he made the shield splinter and fire off towards Kaguya. She easily dodged, reappearing behind Naruto, ready to stab him.

Without any warning for Naruto nor Kaguya, a clone ripped out of Naruto's back. It looked like Naruto but with his own distinct features to set him apart.

The clone grabbed Kaguya's wrists, laughing darkly. **"You might make me feel alive, but I'm getting real tired of your shit!"**

" **Kichigai?"** Naruto asked.

Kichigai lifted his leg and kept a good grip on Kaguya's wrists as he kicked her in the chest. He then pulled her close and slammed his forehead into her own.

" **That's right. I have no illusions about my survival now, but don't think for one moment I'm going down with the ship! I intend on tearing the iceberg a new one!"**

He let her go, spinning and hitting the heel of his foot against Kaguya's head, sending her flying.

She righted herself and flew back towards Kichigai, blocking his next punch. She turned and kicked him in the ribs. He rebounded tried to punch her face, his fist caught by Kaguya and redirected as he was stabbed in the chest.

" **No!"** Naruto shouted.

" **Naruto Uzumaki! If you fail I'll be waiting on the other side to kill you!"**

Kichigai slapped Kaguya, planting an explosive tag across her face. The explosion sent her flying towards the ground, leaving her stunned for only a moment. She corrected herself and realized that her Truth-Seeking Ball was going to lose the power needed to destroy everything and create it anew. She flew back to it, flowing her power into it.

Naruto new If this went off before he could drain it, there was no telling what might happen to himself. But as he drained, Kaguya continued to fuel it. It began to destabilize, and, in realizing that fact, Kaguya forced as much of her chakra in one burst as she could into the ball before opening a portal behind her. She would leave him to die here, though it was regrettable that so much chakra that belonged to her would be lost.

Naruto felt more than saw what Kaguya was trying to do.

Chains shot out of his shoulders, speeding around and trying to ensnare Kaguya. At Zetsu's warning she twisted and all but escaped as one wrapped around her wrist.

The chains retracted at blinding speed, and Naruto absorbed what he could as he kept his hand touching the sphere while shooting around it. As he reached Kaguya he collided with her midair and used his own momentum to carry them both through her portal.

* * *

 _ **Takizawa**_ walked out from between the Shinju's bark, meeting no resistance as he did so. He took a deep breath and looked around. It was all quiet and calm. But to break that calm, a portal opened not too far away. Kaguya and Naruto came crashing through, creating a massive crater on impact.

Naruto was the first to rise, having landed on top of the woman. He only stood there for a moment before she lunged and punched him, sending him flying backward. He twisted in midair, forcing himself upright as he stayed floating in the air.

" **Let the world look on with fear as an uncertain future rises from your ashes."**

He began building up every reserve, concentrating every ounce of power and drawing what he could from the tree and every person sealed within him without actually damaging them. It wouldn't be enough, and he was more than sure of that. Not yet at least. It would take more than some would think he should give. But what choice did he have?

But he let go of his grip on that power as Takizawa began walking in front of them. Kaguya stared at Takizawa. He walked up to her before slapping her across the face, shocking her and Black Zetsu.

"Kaguya, my love, you were wrong. All of the things you feared, everything, you let them consume you," Takizawa said.

"Are you trying to reason with her, Skull?" Naruto asked.

Kaguya was still a little stunned. This wasn't possible. How was this man communicating with her visions? Or were they both visions? How long ago had it all ended and her mind simply started playing tricks on her.

"Yes. All I need is a little more time."

"Oh well," Naruto said, walking up to Kaguya and looking down at her. He then turned back to Takizawa, his expression and voice cold and deadly. "You had your fucking time. She has to answer for what she and, by extension, Black Zetsu did. To the Uchiha and Senju, to her sons, to the world... to me, and to them. To my friends and family!"

"Naruto, please understand."

"I'm sorry skull, but not everyone got off scot-free."

Images appeared behind him of several people. Through both Naruto's and Kaguya's connection to the tree, even Madara appeared. The Jinchuriki. The Akatsuki members. Obito. So many people who had been changed because of Black Zetsu and Kaguya. A flaming image of Hogoromo stood behind Naruto. They all spoke at once in a chorus of voices.

"She was brilliant. And we trusted her. But she lied, to us. She twisted, and tortured, us. And used us! Manipulated us for her own purposes, and for what!? For this? This... shadow of a world where everything is stagnant and nothing moves? In this world she was so afraid of she chose to enslave it? No! She needs to pay."

Kaguya let tears flow from her eyes. There was no way that this could really be Takizawa. Why? Why couldn't the nightmares just leave her be?

Finally losing it, the area exploded as Kaguya got ready to proceed with the battle. She was going to end all of this.

* * *

 _ **"Garra,**_ are you prepared?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. But know that I object to this."

"I know you do. But there is no other way. There is this path and where it leads. But my path is set. I will clear the way so that everyone else has a choice in the matter. Neither of us had a choice in our origins, but know that both of us have a choice in our end."

Garra shed a tear for his friend. "I'll miss you, my first friend. But you make sure that none of this was done in vain."

"There is no other solution."

* * *

 _ **Naruto's**_ two clones appeared at his sides, dragon wings coming from their shoulders to maintain altitude. While a third clone pulled itself from Naruto's back, the first two began flooding his body with a steady flow of chakra.

The new one moved in front of the original and began forming hand signs.

Kaguya, realizing an attack was about to be made, readied herself for what was to come. But no amount of preparation would have helped.

The ground exploded, sand for miles around shooting into the sky and curving in before crashing down on Kaguya. She very quickly altered her position through a portal. The moment she reemerged the sand redirected and flew at her in the form of a drill shaped spear.

She tried moving again, but was blocked as a large wave of it came up behind her. She moved upward to escape.

" **Escape? I play no fool. Seals dug underground to magnify my father's work. But it requires much more concentration."**

The clone formed a hand sign. **"HIRAISHIN!"**

Kaguya looked into the sky as a blinding light revealed an immense landmass above her. The jutsu having ripped the millions of pounds of dirt and tree and stone out of the ground, now dumped it out above Kaguya.

It took only moments for the debris to pick up speed and come crashing down on her. She held up her hands, using her chakra to burrow through it.

While she was out of sight, Naruto suddenly dispersed his clones, being overloaded with all remaining chakra. He built it up all at once and let it go all at once.

As Kaguya emerged from the other side of the rock, Naruto was there, glowing with power that had instantly become unstable. He gripped her throat and let his power flow into Kaguya, corrupting, absorbing, and activating all that she still contained as well. He focused on taking what he could of the other tailed beasts into his seals and ejecting them like everyone else.

" **Your power has failed before, as it shall again!"**

Just before the world went white, Takizawa, having used the Shinju's vines to get to that location, grabbed hold of their shoulders.

* * *

 _ **"Redemption**_ will forever elude you until you accept what you've done, Kaguya." Naruto said, stepping into the new range of reality.

Kaguya stood there, still trying to comprehend what had happened.

"Where are we?" she asked.

Naruto shook his head. "I don't know. What I do know is that I have simply obliterated our physical forms, just as planned."

"Just as planned?" Takizawa asked, stepping into range.

Naruto scowled. "You are dead too then. Regardless of your immunity to chakra thanks to your predating of it doesn't save you from that. It destroyed everything in contact with me by absorbing their chakra, bioelectrical energy, and life force. It then turns it into pure destruction."

"So you killed everyone? What was the point then?"

"Everyone? No. I unsealed everyone and everything at the last second. By then, it was too late to stop what was happening."

Takizawa hummed in thought. "And what happened to Black Zetsu."

"Destroyed." Naruto said. "His will was hers and therefore returned to her. He has no real presence here."

"So what now?"

"I have finally brought an end to that which is Kaguya Otsutsuki," Naruto said with a smile. "The world is free."

"You can't," Kaguya said, desperately, if these people were truly real, then she had no time to question how or why as she turned to Takizawa. "You, more than anyone, knows why this has to happen." She backed away, falling over as she did so. She had to finish her work. She looked at Naruto. "And you, so misguided. Humanity's imprisonment is kindness!"

"Get up. Kaguya. My love!" Takizawa said, crouching next to her. "It doesn't matter how it happened or who's to blame. This is all we have. You are home. You are my home. You're all I have. And it's finally time to let go."

Naruto sighed. "You still wish to reason with a woman so afraid of the entire world stealing her power? Kaguya, you were a fool. You always wanted to save the world but eventually came to believe the only way too truly do so was to enslave it. You thought that the world was too broken to trust. But that was what corrupted and ruined you."

He sighed again. "What the hell, we're all dead anyway."

A map of the world appeared in the air at Naruto's behest. It showed the borders of Orb, including the recent conquests.

"Kaguya, do you see this? I managed to make this in the same world you feared would destroy it. She's coming back. Life is coming back. Peace. Peace is growing. I have managed to bring most of the world together in one common effort. Do you see this? This is the world we know. The one I built. Everything you wanted is happening. Is she completely healed yet? No. But she's trying. Can we call her home? Truly and with no thought of something else? No. Not quite yet. But someday. Someday I have faith is soon."

Tears came to Kaguya's eyes once more. If these two were real and they were dead, what reason did she not have to trust him? "I thought I had to destroy everything to save the world. There is redemption. This is what it feels like. I'm free. I'm free!"

And she suddenly faded away, Takizawa fading with her.

Naruto looked around. "All this time and that's it." He smiled. "How anticlimactic. Oh well. Time to see the end of this story. My story. It's finally at an end."

* * *

 _ **Naruto**_ opened his eyes, seeing hundreds of zombies as they got their bearings. He looked around, coming to terms with where exactly he was.

"Naruto?" Hinata said from behind him, confusion laced in her tone.

Naruto turned towards her, instantly seeing his reflection in her eyes. He himself had been confused about being there rather than faded away and dead like Kaguya and Takizawa must be. In Hinata's eyes, he saw that he was no longer in a physical body. He seemed to be nothing more than an ethereal being made of what seemed to be chakra, but he couldn't be sure.

He looked down at his hands and noticed that the flaming form fit what was happening. There was no physical body to hold the massive amounts of energy that made up his form. It was slowly burning away. His thought was confirmed as a flake, minuscule but apparent, disappeared from the tip of his finger. His judgment told him there couldn't be long.

He looked around and saw his people, Uzu shinobi, Suna shinobi, and so many others. Everyone who had died this day and some from before.

"Hello Hinata," Naruto finally responded. "So it's finally over."

Hinata wrapped her arms around him, somehow his form solid. She cried, finally able to wrap her arms around him and revel in the warmth and relief that this was all done.

"It is," she said.

"Hey, Uzukage my man, what's with the new look?" Deidara asked, clasping a hand on Naruto's shoulder. He wasn't a Zombie. Not everyone had died, but he was one of the lucky few.

"I'm not entirely sure, but what are you saying? I'm the strangest thing you've seen all day?"

Deidara chuckled. "No, I guess not."

Naruto smiled and then let out a heavy sigh. "Either way, I don't think I'll be here much longer," he said.

" **What are you talking about kit? How I'm out of the seal can wait,"** Kurama said.

Kurama, walked up, many scrambling to get out of the massive beast's way. Shino and Anko were standing on his head, having probably been picked up by him to help search for Naruto.

"Hey, Kurama. Bring those two down here, will you?"

Kurama nodded slightly and lowered his head, letting Shino and Anko step down next to them all.

Naruto looked at them all, remembering the times they had all shared and what it all meant now that they had gotten this far. It had all started with punching a mirror and ended now with this.

"Well, I've got good news and bad news," he said. "The good news is that it's finally over. We did it. Just like we always do."

"Yes," Hinata said, still holding onto him. "Now we can go home."

"No. I won't be going with you this time."

"What do you mean Naruto?" she asked in confusion.

"Well, that's the bad news, you see?" He paused, unable to really say it.

"Go ahead and lay it on us," Shino said. "We're right there with you."

"Well, that's the problem. You can't be right there with me this time. This is a path I must walk alone and no one else can follow."

Shino's face turned to shock as he finally realized. "Now? Are you serious? In the end? It's all over and now of all times?!"

"Yes, Shino. Now. This is the end. There are no other times."

"What are you talking about, Naruto?" Anko asked. Hinata had the same question in her eyes as she backed up a step.

"As it turns out, there are very few ways to kill a goddess, especially one who has the chakra to create universes at her fingertips. The easiest and probably only way is to meet them head-on with enough power built up to self-detonate and drag them down with me. I held back just enough to get you all out of the seals, most of me is scattered to the wind. I guess that's how I'm still here. But my body is gone and this form is fading away."

As if to make his point, he held up his hands, the tips gradually flaking off into the wind.

"No," Hinata said. "That's not-!" she cut herself off, the tears that had been forming now cutting her off as she choked up.

Anko stepped forward. "You can't. We go together," she said.

Naruto shook his head. "It's already done."

"We were supposed to be there for you. All four of us for each other," Hinata said.

"And we did," Naruto said, smirking.

"So this is supposed to be goodbye?" Kureo said, walking up with Kagari at his side.

Naruto turned towards them. "Yes, I'm afraid that it is. The time has come to part ways I'm afraid."

Hinata's eyes widened. "But what about the Edo Tensei? Orochimaru can bring you back!"

"With what? My body is destroyed and any DNA you can scrape up won't be enough to be effective. If you try saying the Rinnegan as an option, Madara's and Sasuke's are gone along with their bodies. I would use mine while I still exist, but my soul isn't gone to be retrieved. And there isn't a body for it to go into anyways."

"What about shadow clones?" Anko asked.

"Those split the user's chakra. I am made up of chakra now. My guess is it would only shorten my time, not that I have much anyways." He looked down, one of his hands missing all of its fingers now.

" **So you've set the world free along with your death. I'm impressed Kit. Even got the other Biju out. So, what now?"** Kurama said.

"Thanks, old friend. And as for your question, I'm not going out on regrets or letting any of these people die for me. I will ensure that I go out on my own terms and on a high note."

He formed a single hand sign before glowing brightly, his entire arms flaked away as a massive head sprouted from the ground behind him. Its mouth opened up and let green lights fly outward, entering the zombies across the lands.

Within a few minutes and the hundreds of zombies were finished having their souls returned. Light truly returned to Shino and Hinata's eyes.

So it had all worked. And all it had taken was all the chakra in the world, more or less. He had brought back very few people who had not been on his side during the wars. Orochimaru was one of them, the deal they had worked out settled with the fact that Orochimaru couldn't lie. Like the Uchiha clan, however, he let many who had been dead for quite some time and many of those who were never on his side stay dead and, along with whatever was left of the Infinite Tsukuyomi, he canceled out the Edo Tensei, letting the dead once again rest.

As it finished, he continued flaking away, the process being accelerated. "And for my final trick, where is Ochiai? The immortals, where are they?"

"Some of us are right here," Ochiai said, walking out of the crowd, the immortal Fuu next to him along with Genkaku.

Before anything could be said, even Gaara and the other Jinchuriki were walking up.

"Hello, Gaara," Naruto said.

"Naruto," Gaara said with a nod.

Naruto turned back to Ochiai and continued speaking. "You have been walking this earth for quite some time. Immortality is caused by the corruption of chakra in the genetic code, as was explained to me by Skull. So, I'm going to fix such a mistake. I'm going to make everything right."

He glowed once again before a wave, like an aroura, shot across the ground and rapidly expanding over the horizons and passing. But as it did so, it clung to the immortals everywhere it encountered them, even back in Ochiai's village. They could feel something leave them, not as pain or being stolen, but leave them none the less.

By this point, the entirety of one of his legs and even most of his shoulders flaked away. He was mostly gone at this point as he spent such large amounts of chakra.

"I leave figuring out the rest to you. I don't have much longer," he said. "Come closer everyone."

The others stepped closer, Hinata helping him stay standing. The others were all trying to wrap their minds around what was happening.

"It's over now. So, this is how it ends?" Naruto said with a laugh.

Shino walked closer, placing an arm around Anko's shoulder. "I hate group hugs, but I'll make an exception this time," he said.

"What do you mean by group-" Anko said before Shino pulled them both into Naruto and Hinata, creating a group hug. Kureo and Kagari joined in.

"I'm so sorry," Naruto said, his left leg gone now. "I wish I could stay and change things. But not all is lost. Kureo, Kagari, you two are my sons, not by blood, but by mission. When the time comes, work together to help rule Orb. But I do not want you two to fight over your power. That would be cruel. You will not be at the top. Be in charge of one nation and help whoever is in charge after I am gone. Stand by their side as you stood by mine."

The two brothers agreed to this.

"Anko, Shino, do not grieve for me. You were great friends, and I thank you for that. Stand by each other, as you always have. Always keep those people down at the interrogation division in line," he said with a dark chuckle.

They also laughed and Anko ruffled his hair.

"Gaara, take care of yourself and make sure the Bijuu are always treated fairly. It took a lot to free them without losing all of the hosts to death. Make sure there is peace."

Garra nodded, tearing up as he did. His first friend was there, dying.

"Hinata," Naruto said, tired and leaning on her mostly as he was rapidly fading and mostly gone by this point. "I would say the same to you that I did to Anko, but I feel you deserve more than that. We agreed that once this was over we would do something. But it seems the only thing I could do was offer you a parting gift in a manner of speaking. I know you love me, and I care very deeply for you. I'm not sure entirely, but I'm almost positive it's love. It's a tricky thing, love. If I had survived I would be giving you the same thing. I did this mostly on a whim and don't even know why I thought of it. But for some reason, it's so important that I do. Something to leave behind of me for you perhaps. I'm still not sure."

"What are you talking about?"

"In the depths of the Uzukage tower, where I once grew clones to help ease the loss on this world, I have one last gift for you. Find it and I leave what to do with it up to you. I leave what exactly you do with her up to you. I don't have the time nor the desire to make such a decision for you, nor to explain anymore. I'm almost out of time."

Hinata let it drop, regardless of how much she wanted answers, not wanting to waste any more of his remaining time.

"No, Naruto, don't leave us," Shino said. "You were there for all of us where so few were."

"And now you will be here for me when no one else will ever be again." There was a pause. Hinata was saying something, but he couldn't hear the words.

Naruto opened his mouth to speak but barely got the words out. "It's funny. Despite everything I've heard.... Your life doesn't flash before your eyes when you are dying. That's bullshit. It's your regrets that haunt you in your final moments. Everything you've failed to be. Everyone you let down. Everything you'd go back and change, if only you had more time. But I am everything I wanted to be. I have so few regrets. In the end, all I want is more time to cherish the results I have created. But, I leave everything, the results, the outcome, and everything you do with them, up to you."

...

...

...

*fade to black*


	25. Epilogue

_**"Shino**_ died, like most of the shinobi, but was saved by Naruto in the end. Kamaji survived and was Uzukage for a while, though he is still in a wheelchair thanks to the war. Orochimaru and Kabuto just...disappeared. They pop up now and then, giving us gifts of their research, but I still remember what Orochimaru told us. Before he left, he said 'what if Naruto is the last great man sent to save us from ourselves? The fact that he even brought me back...maybe that is the pardon and salvation...for me...for the Elemental Nations....for all of us? The last light of hope in this world in any war that comes after this?' And then he left. But that...that is the story."

Hinata finished her speech, bringing herself back to the present.

Shino, now wearing the Uzukage robes, Hinata, and Anko were sitting beneath the tree, passing around some snacks as they watched the sun set over Uzushio. They had lived peacefully within the village for so long. Peace had reined under the village and the unity it had long ago brought to the world. It was time for the celebration. Eleven years, just over a decade, this peace had survived.

Hinata looked over as Obito crested the hill, a bag of steaks over his shoulder and a red Kage hat on his head. Itachi was right behind him, pulling the grill.

Some of the others had shown up not so long ago and everyone was preparing for the party. The Crest Gun was in the distance, loaded to the brim with thousands of fireworks. The Bahamut Sky Fortress could be seen in the distance, lights of various colors flashing in the windows as the people who still had to man it were throwing their own party. They had taken a week to set up the lighting and music.

All of them saw it as this great and beautiful thing. This beautiful thing their friend had given his life to give them. Even Kurama, his white fur practically glowing in the sun, was laying down nearby and smirking as he talked with some and laughing at a joke someone told him.

Each of them looked over at Kurama and how he sounded. He was happy. They all were. What they had built had been built to last. And so it had.

Hinata turned back and looked at the sunset before looking down into her arms. It was what Naruto had left her. A clone. A small child created by splicing DNA. Her own and Naruto's. A child like the one he would have eventually given her were he alive to have a life with her. It was how he was supposed to make it up to her for dying before actually giving her a child.

She had chosen to accept the gift, albeit with a long time between discovering the child and making that decision. It had taken her years to decide what to really do. Nine years, leaving the girl just over a year old in her arms. The girl had been in a stasis of sorts, giving Hinata more than enough time to come to the decision of raising the child and teaching them all about who their father had been.

Hinata looked back up, loving this. She was surrounded by friends, with great food and a good time to celebrate this. To celebrate everything they had ever wanted.

Shrimp, steak, chicken, corn, potatoes, ramen, and a myriad of other foods permeated the air with their smells of being cooked and made.

The sunset. It was so beautiful.

"And that is how your father defeated the enemies of the world. How he saved the world. He was the bravest of us all. He wasn't afraid to help those the rest left to the darkness. And he wasn't afraid to give his life to save everyone. And that's how the story ends."

"Hey, how's it going!?" someone asked as they crested the hill. It was Ochiai. Fuu the immortal, the other eight including their new members, as well as some of the others stood at his sides. Though none were actually immortal anymore, they liked the titles and kept them, though they were visibly older now.

Kagari, wearing the Raikage robes, and Kureo, wearing the Tsuchikage robes, walked up to them, happy to join.

Some of the old Jinchuriki, Fuu, Roshi, Utakata, Han, Yugito, and Killer Bee, were walking up also along with so many others. The old Akatsuki members, including Konan and Nagato. So many were here, and now it was time to celebrate.

"And it's how another one begins."

* * *

 _ **Kabuto**_ worked in their lab, handing another chemical to Orochimaru. The elder took the chemical into a needle before forcing it into the arm of a man they had tied down. The man screamed for a moment before calming down and falling asleep.

"We have success Kabuto," Orochimaru said.

"Congratulations. We just discovered a cure for cancer."

"That is right, dear boy. Now, get dressed. We wouldn't want to be late for your wedding, now would we? I swear that girl would have us both hanging by our entrails if you left her waiting."

They grabbed their coats and began leaving the facility. "Don't forget to deliver that," Kabuto said.

"Don't you worry, Kabuto. I'll take care of it. But first, it's been so long since I had a slice of wedding cake."

* * *

 _ **Gaara**_ stood atop the Kazekage tower, Shukaku standing nearby, both of them watching the sky and waiting.

" **That boy truly was something,"** Shukaku said. **"It's a shame he couldn't be here this day."**

"Yes, it is," Gaara said.

They both looked over and saw the other sand siblings walking up. They both greeted them. They then turned to the sky and waited.

* * *

 _ **Yagura**_ stood on top of the Mizukage tower with Mei. They intertwined their hands and looked up in the sky.

And as they stared up, they saw the sky light up. Fireworks went off as the Crest Gun fired them into the sky, large enough and high enough to be seen by everyone from Mizu to Suna.

* * *

**_..._ **

**_..._ **

_**...** _

" _ **I'm not sure if it will happen, how long it will take, or what will happen if this is successful. I have to thank you for the chance you gave me even if it isn't or is. I created this clone with as much of your chakra as I could in the hopes that we might both get second chances. I hope this works so that I might repay you for having given me life at all. I wish there were more chances, that there was more time, but there aren't. So, if you do receive this message, thank you. I'm sorry that I stood against you as long as I did. But as it turns out, facing death makes me feel more alive than anything else. So we shall see. And if this does work, and you do inherit my, Kichigai's, second clone, well.....then I wish you good luck, Naruto Uzumaki. But if not, welcome back to me."**_

The man stood there, deep within the cave. Its limbs had been sore and its eyes unaccustomed to light as he moved his body towards the entrance to this cave. He guarded his eyes as he stood in the entrance. He saw fireworks in the sky as he adjusted.

His hair was white and had grown down past his feet but was oily from not being cleaned in eleven years. One of his eyes was a deep blue while the other had a red iris with a golden sclera.

"Welcome back and good luck indeed. I wonder...how long have I been gone?"


	26. "Bad" Ending

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so here are those two alternate endings I mentioned. I never really took either of these seriously, they were just ideas that popped into my head. The "Takizawa Alternate" Ending was one I considered going with originally because the way I had set up the character could have had either version work. The one I used in the story or the alternate. I intended for the story to play out in a similar manner regardless of which version of Takizawa's story I used, but with some differences.
> 
> I hope you enjoy them, and if anyone wants to try writing out either of these alternate endings in more detail feel free and just send me a link to them. Otherwise, have fun thinking of how the story could have changed.

_**The**_ light cleared away, Naruto waking to find himself on the ground. His body was falling apart. He looked up and saw Kaguya standing above him. His release of all chakra in the world and let it flow through him and Kaguya had failed. And as destroyed as his body was, Kaguya was pulling herself back together. The Infinite Tsukuyomi providing her with all she needed to heal herself.

Kurama was yelling in his mind, as damaged as he was. **"Naruto! It is time! That one fallback you prayed wouldn't come! Do it!"**

Naruto looked around and saw Hinata's zombie form falling apart as he released control of the Edo Tensei. He crawled towards her.

" **What a resourceful young man."** Back Zetsu said, walking up to him. **"Tell me, Naruto Uzumaki, 'savior of the world,' where are you going?"**

Naruto smirked as he grabbed onto Hinata just before she faded away. "If I'm lucky, wherever you're going so I can taunt you with your failure."

He activated the millions of pounds of C-4 buried under every elemental nation and activated every Hiraishin seal he could. He would not leave the world to be enslaved by Kaguya. So if this was the end, he would take it all down with him.

And suddenly the entire world was a flash of light. Even if it wouldn't take Kaguya down, it would destroy the tree and eventually Kaguya would die.


	27. "Takizawa Alternate" Ending

_**As**_ the light of the Infinite Tsukuyomi faded away, Naruto appeared in the battle-torn wasteland in a flash. With his sons and Kichigai at his side, he tossed Skull to the ground and let his limp body lay there. He looked around, displeased but not surprised to see the massive roots spread across the ground with thousands of people hanging from them.

His interest was especially piqued to see Sasuke laying on the ground with blood seeping from one eye and slightly burned, but otherwise, merely unconscious.

"It would seem Itachi's investment was not misplaced." Ha mumbled.

And then he looked to the source of all this chaos. Kaguya Ootsutsuki standing there in front of the tree, Black Zetsu clinging to her sleeve.

Skull's body twitched and his head turned to stare forward and see what had been wrought upon the world through his efforts. And then, regardless of the pain it caused him, regardless of the brain damage, he smiled.

"Yes." Skull rasped out. "Welcome back to the world, my beloved. Your most faithful Takizawa has seen to it that you have been revived."

He started picking himself up, the last pieces of shattered skull falling from his face. His wavy hair falling down to his mid-back and his face now seen without the skull obstructing the view of it.

"Long ago a monster guarded the sacred fruit. And millennia later, it has finally come full circle for my mistakes to correct themselves."

Kaguya looked at Takizawa for a moment, at first unable to recognize him. Her eyes then widened in shock. Tears flowed from her eyes.

"Taki? Is it you? Taki? My sweet Taki?" she asked.

Black Zetsu said nothing and Naruto remained still as Takizawa walked over to her, a slight limp in his step before the final piece of skin and tissue stitched back together. And within seconds he stood right in front of her.

Her hand moved and she cupped his cheek, pulling him closer.

"It's me, my love. I've missed you so very much." Takizawa said.

"It's been so very long, according to Zetsu. Yet you haven't aged a day. You look so handsome. Now I am complete."

"Do not worry. I'm here. I'm so sorry I left you alone for so long. After Zetsu blew up our home, I had no memory, but after I remembered I wanted nothing more than to return. But I was so scared. And then she started to attack our sons. At the time, there was nothing I could do but wait and watch. My own fear kept me from you, but now, I have ravaged nations and traversed time to set things right. To bring you back."

Kaguya grabbed his shoulders, pulled him tightly against her and leaned her head into his chest. "I'm so glad that after all these years-"

Takizawa shushed her and caressed her back. "Don't say anything. Just relax, Kaguya. I love you, know that. But also know, that I am not here for you."

There was a ripping pain in Kaguya's chest as Takizawa pressed his hand through Kaguya's ribcage, grabbing a firm hold of her heart. But that was not what he was after.

" **What are you doing?!"** Blazk Zetsu shouted in a panic.

"Freeing my beloved," Takizawa responded. He grabbed the beating heart tightly and began pulling something from it, a power that woke and pulsed at his touch. It was familiar and powerful.

He pulled his hand back out, light pulsing in his grip. The massive tree moved and creaked in response to this light being exposed. A large root ripped itself from the ground, its tendrils wrapping around Takizawa and absorbing the light.

"Yes, be free my beloved! Your loyal servant Takizawa has finally revived you! Reawaken Shinju!"


End file.
